Student Accidentally Unearths Massive Mayan City in Mexico

An unexpected discovery has just shed light on Valeriana, a vast Mayan city hidden under the canopy of southern Mexico. This find, made possible thanks to a laser Lidar survey operated by American doctoral student Luke Auld-Thomas, offers an unprecedented insight into the complexity of Mayan cities. Located in the Campeche region, Valeriana is estimated to have been home to tens of thousands of people, challenging theories about settlement density in the tropics. Here's how this once-prosperous city emerged from data to reveal its mysteries.

An archaeological treasure unearthed using Lidar technology

Valeriana, a 16.6 km² Mayan city hidden beneath the Mexican jungle, was spotted using a Lidar survey, a remote sensing technology that uses laser pulses to map areas covered in vegetation.

This technology has made it possible to identify more than 6,700 structures, including pyramids, public squares and dwellings, scattered across three distinct sites. Auld-Thomas, a student at Tulane University in the United States, discovered the map by chance, diverting the laser survey from its original use of monitoring carbon levels in forests.

Using this technology, he discovered what the team of researchers describes as “the characteristics of a classic political capital” of the Mayans, according to Independent. Indeed, Valeriana is comparable in population density to Calakmul, another major site in the region, located approximately 100 km away. The data suggests that this dense city, with its two central squares and pyramids, was a nerve center where religious, political and social life intermingled.

All of the structures identified by the researchers show an advanced level of organization, with neighborhoods connected by roadways and water reservoirs, necessary to support a dense population of 30,000 to 50,000 inhabitants, at the peak of its development , between 750 and 850 AD. This population density, much higher than that of the current region, illustrates sophisticated urban planning in a difficult environment.

A Mayan city in decline

Valeriana's study also challenges the classic perception of the Maya as inhabitants of small, isolated villages. The site, “hidden in plain sight” according to the BBC, is only about a fifteen minute walk from a main road. This proximity and the number of structures revealed by Lidar support the hypothesis of dense and complex urban life in this tropical region.

However, the decline of Valeriana and other Mayan cities stems from several environmental and demographic factors. Researchers believe that drought, beginning around 800 AD, contributed to this collapse. This period of drought has complicated survival in an already densely populated region. Added to this were conflicts between cities, intensifying the crisis. Later, in the 16th century, the Spanish invasion finally weakened these urban centers.

The lack of flexibility in infrastructure reinforces this decline in response to climate change. Mayan cities, such as Valeriana, were already fully exploiting their resources, which limited their ability to adapt to harsh environmental conditions, made worse by drought.

Lidar technology: a revolution for archeology

Lidar has become an essential tool in archaeology. It allows you to quickly map large areas covered in dense vegetation. Before this technology, archaeologists had to explore these regions on foot, armed with simple tools to search the jungle. Today, thanks to Lidar, they are mapping areas ten times larger in ten years than in a century of manual excavations.

These advances revealed that Mayan cities, like Valeriana, were far more numerous and complex than imagined. However, this abundance of archaeological sites poses a challenge. Resources to explore each location remain limited, and it is unlikely that Valeriana will benefit from a comprehensive search any time soon. Although a road provides access to the city, the lack of means still hinders the full exploration of its riches.

Thus, Valeriana represents a fraction of the archaeological treasures yet to be discovered in the jungles of Latin America, and the use of Lidar will continue to play a crucial role in unlocking the mysteries of lost civilizations.