AnirudhaLiving The High Life
One of the most incredible thing that the research team found out after using the LiDAR technology it was the new information about the Mayans. They saw several high stone platforms above the ground which told them that many Mayans lived on them which they constructed by themselves. “To have such a large number of people living at such a high level for such a long period of time, it really proves the fact that these people were highly developed, and also quite environmentally conscientious,” said Diane Davis, Mayan specialist. But there was more they found hidden in the deep vast forest.
Thousands Of Structures
The LiDAR showed around 60,000 Mayan structures. Yes, 60,000. The news of this discovery shocked everybody be it the historians or archeologist. The discovery made them realize how advanced the civilization actually was. They thought there were no other cities related to the Mayan people but today they have 60,000 structures in sight. Which lead to other revelation about the true population of the civilization.
Many More Mayans
“The LiDAR images make it clear that this entire region was a settlement system whose scale and population density had been grossly underestimated,” Garrison said. Going by the findings, Garrison could tell that the Mayan population was far more than they previously thought it was which was estimated to be between 1 million and 2 million. But after the discovery, we could tell that the Mayan population was around 20 million.
More Farms?
It was the discovery of 60,000 structures found hidden in the forest that changed the perception of the researchers they saw the Mayan civilization. These structures are believed to be used for farming by the Mayan people. There was clear evidence of terracing and irrigation in that area. This would suggest that the Mayan people were involved in farming and knew how to provide for their families.
Tropical Miracle
According to Marcello Canuto who is an archeologist from the Tulane University, who also was the part of the team said that this discovery has drawn a very fine line between the engineering marvels and unadulterated miracles. But the question, how these people managed to move such heavy objects shocked him the most. “This was a civilization that was literally moving mountains, we’ve had this western conceit that complex civilizations can’t flourish in the tropics, that the tropics are where civilizations go to die,” Marcello said.
Welcome To The Jungle
Marcello thinks that this discovery also tells us that the first civilization started in the jungle and later moved out from the jungle as other civilizations do when they advance in their life. “But with the new LiDAR-based evidence from Central America and [Cambodia’s] Angkor Wat, we now have to consider that complex society may have formed in the tropics and made their way outward from there,” he said.