Posted on 02/02/2018 11:30:31 AM PST by BenLurkin
[S]cholars digitally removed the tree canopy from aerial images of the now-unpopulated landscape, revealing the ruins of a sprawling pre-Columbian civilization that was far more complex and interconnected than most Maya specialists had supposed.
“The LiDAR images make it clear that this entire region was a settlement system whose scale and population density had been grossly underestimated,” said Thomas Garrison, an Ithaca College archaeologist....who specializes in using digital technology for archaeological research.
The project mapped more than 800 square miles (2,100 square kilometers) of the Maya Biosphere Reserve in the Petén region of Guatemala, producing the largest LiDAR data set ever obtained for archaeological research.
The results suggest that Central America supported an advanced civilization that was, at its peak some 1,200 years ago, more comparable to sophisticated cultures such as ancient Greece or China than to the scattered and sparsely populated city states that ground-based research had long suggested.
In addition to hundreds of previously unknown structures, the LiDAR images show raised highways connecting urban centers and quarries. Complex irrigation and terracing systems supported intensive agriculture capable of feeding masses of workers who dramatically reshaped the landscape.
...
Virtually all the Mayan cities were connected by causeways wide enough to suggest that they were heavily trafficked and used for trade and other forms of regional interaction. These highways were elevated to allow easy passage even during rainy seasons. In a part of the world where there is usually too much or too little precipitation, the flow of water was meticulously planned and controlled via canals, dikes, and reservoirs.
Among the most surprising findings was the ubiquity of defensive walls, ramparts, terraces, and fortresses. “Warfare wasn’t only happening toward the end of the civilization,” said Garrison. “It was large-scale and systematic, and it endured over many years.”
(Excerpt) Read more at news.nationalgeographic.com ...
What I found out was that with each succeeding new ruler, they would rebuild the city over the existing one.......
At the very back of the ruins, you could see the evidence on the high wall. In that area, they also had thousands of blocks that were labled since they were rebuilding the rear most area of the site......
I take it your family is not from Guatemala.
If you go to Tikal you can literally run your hands through the dirt just about anywhere and pull up human bone chips. According a guide I heard talking, on one day alone they sacrificed 80,000 people.
That is not a typo.
The Mayans, Aztec, Incans etc. were depraved beyond belief. The Spanish were far too gentle. The Mayan’s should have been eradicated from the face of the earth.
I would like to add a recommendation to read “The Lost City of the Monkey Gods” by Preston. Similar type situation in Honduras. Except for the Leprosy.
Good book.
Maybe they can use this technology to find the Lost City of Z?
If they knew where to look.
Thanks BenLurkin. We could use an update on this. The LIDAR study has been enormous, and the only reason I'd not posted an update myself is, well, I kinda don't give much of a crap about the bloodthirsty Precolumbian Central American cultures.
I'm also glad you did because I've been getting set to post yet another update on the use of radar in the tomb of King Tut.
Ask The Clintons and the Podestas et al.
Yep.
...and libs get all weary about Joshua wiping out the canaanites....
That statement actually supports the Euro-centric outlook on history. It is saying that civilization starts and stays in non-tropical regions.
The Maya were not as bloodthirsty as the Aztecs. Certain elements of their civilization were as advanced as Europe: astronomy, building construction and the creation of large cities (they had larger cities than Europe at that time). The lack of the wheel is amazing.
When the conquistadors first saw the cities they were astounded.
My wife is from Guatemala. I have been able to visit a couple of Mayan sites including Copan in Honduras and the major city of Tikal. Quite a thrill.
If Lowland Mayan civilization was more interconnected and populated where people were forced to live in marginal lands better explains how things could go south if such a complex system underwent stress say due to an extended drought.
Everyone builds pyramids at some point in their development. All you need is rocks and slaves.
==
And engineers, mathematicians, astronomers, masons, architects, skilled artists and the list goes on.
Not to mention, the amount of sand would have to be much, much larger to take the place of a gold idol. And at the chasm, he tossed it to his turncoat hireling, but it would be heavier than a shot put. Good thing it wasn’t a documentary...
So the Ark of the Covenant isn't in Warehouse 13?
That’s the part that showed it was BS — the warehouses are numbered 1 through 12, then 14 through about 69 — they skipped 13 because of Triskaidekaphobia.
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