A Mayan Archaeologist Has Discovered 27 Previously Unknown Ancient Sites—All Without Ever Leaving His Computer

A resourceful archaeologist has made the stunning discovery of
27 new ancient Mayan sites—all without ever leaving his desk.

Takeshi Inomata, an researcher at the University of Arizona,
made his discoveries using freely accessible light detection
and ranging maps (LiDAR for short) published in 2011 by
the National Institute of Statistics and Geography in Mexico,
according to the New York
Times.

The organization created the map, which surveys 4,400 square
miles of land in the Mexican states of Tabasco and Chiapas, with an
eye toward serving businesses and researchers. An even though the
imagery is low resolution, it still suited Inomata’s needs,
especially considering it was free. (Inomata recently spent $62,000
on a less fruitful LiDAR map, and even then the price reflected a
steep discount.)

Using the technology, Inomata—who specializes in the
origins of Mayan civilization and its links to the early Olmec
people—identified ceremonial sites never before seen by
scholars.

Inomata’s new findings include large constructions that are low
to the ground and easily obscured by thick brush.

“If you walk on it, you don’t realize it,” Inomata told
the Times. “It’s so big it just looks like a part of
the natural landscape.”

His findings are now inspiring other archaeologists to take a
look at publicly available LiDAR maps.

Using NASA data from a survey of Mexico, Charles Golden, an
anthropology professor at Brandeis University, spotted ancient
settlements near the Usumacinta River on the Mexico-Guatemala
border. And more maps will be available soon, with countries
including the US launching LiDAR initiatives.

“The future pattern,” Inomata said, “will be that everything
will be covered by LiDAR, like topographic maps today.”

The potential applications of LiDAR, which has revolutionized Mayan
archaeology, have been known since 2009, but archaeologists in
Guatemala shocked the scholarly world in 2018 when they
used it to discover thousands of Maya
ruins.

The post A Mayan Archaeologist Has Discovered 27 Previously
Unknown Ancient Sites—All Without Ever Leaving His Computer
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