Centuries after being swallowed by the dense jungle canopy of Mexico, a vast Mayan city has been unearthed in a remarkable discovery. Archaeologists stumbled upon the sprawling urban center, complete with pyramids, sports fields, causeways, and amphitheatres, in the southeastern state of Campeche. This monumental find, christened Valeriana, was brought to light using Lidar technology, a laser-based survey capable of mapping structures hidden beneath thick vegetation. Experts believe Valeriana ranks second only to Calakmul in terms of density, potentially making it one of the largest Mayan sites in ancient Latin America. The discovery of Valeriana and two other sites within an area comparable to Edinburgh, Scotland, was described as a “Mexico Accident” – a surprising turn of events initiated by an archaeologist’s online data exploration.
The Accidental Discovery: Serendipity Meets Lidar Technology
The revelation of Valeriana was far from a planned excavation. Luke Auld-Thomas, a PhD student from Tulane University, made the groundbreaking find while sifting through publicly available data online. “I was on something like page 16 of Google search and found a laser survey done by a Mexican organisation for environmental monitoring,” Auld-Thomas explained. This seemingly mundane search led to the analysis of Lidar data. Lidar, or Light Detection and Ranging, is a remote sensing method that employs laser pulses emitted from an aircraft to create detailed maps of the terrain below, even through dense foliage. When Auld-Thomas applied archaeological analysis techniques to this environmental data, he discerned what had been previously overlooked: the unmistakable layout of a major ancient city. This “mexico accident”, born from digital exploration and technological application, unveiled a city that may have housed between 30,000 to 50,000 inhabitants at its zenith, between 750 and 850 AD. Intriguingly, this population size surpasses the current population of the surrounding region.
Valeriana, named after a nearby lagoon, challenges long-held Western perspectives that viewed tropical regions as detrimental to civilization development. Professor Marcello Canuto, a research co-author, emphasizes that this region fostered rich and intricate cultures, contrary to the notion of the tropics being where “civilizations went to die.” While the exact reasons for Valeriana’s decline and eventual abandonment remain unclear, archaeologists suggest climate change played a significant role. Though no photographs of Valeriana itself exist yet, its pyramid temples are believed to resemble those at Calakmul, offering a visual reference to its potential grandeur.
Unveiling Valeriana: Hallmarks of a Major Mayan Center
Valeriana exhibits all the characteristics of a significant capital city, second only to Calakmul in building density, despite being located approximately 100km (62 miles) away. Archaeologists highlight its almost paradoxical situation: “hidden in plain sight.” The site is a mere 15-minute walk from a major road near Xpujil, a town largely inhabited by Maya people today. Despite its proximity to modern life, Valeriana remained undetected, although local communities may have suspected the presence of ruins beneath the overgrown mounds. Covering an area of roughly 16.6 sq km, Valeriana comprised two main centers with substantial structures situated about 2km (1.2 miles) apart, interconnected by residential areas and causeways. Within these centers, researchers identified two plazas featuring temple pyramids, likely used for worship, along with potential caches of treasures like jade masks and burial sites. Evidence of a ball court, used for the ancient Mayan ball game, and a reservoir system further underscore the city’s complexity and its capacity to support a large population by effectively managing the landscape. Across the three sites surveyed, the team documented a total of 6,764 buildings of varying sizes, painting a picture of a densely populated and sophisticated urban landscape.
Professor Elizabeth Graham from University College London, while not directly involved in the research, affirms the findings, stating that they reinforce the understanding of Maya settlements as complex urban centers rather than scattered villages. She emphasizes that the discovery reveals a “definitely settled” landscape in the past, contrasting with its current appearance as “uninhabited or ‘wild’”. This discovery lends further weight to the theory that the collapse of Maya civilization, starting around 800 AD, was partly due to overpopulation straining resources and resilience in the face of climate challenges. Auld-Thomas suggests that the landscape was saturated with people at the onset of drought conditions, leaving little room for adaptation and potentially contributing to societal unraveling as populations migrated. While climate change is considered a major factor, warfare and the Spanish conquest in the 16th century also contributed to the decline of Maya city-states.
Lidar’s Legacy: Unlocking a World of Lost Cities
The “mexico accident” discovery of Valeriana underscores the transformative impact of Lidar technology on archaeology, particularly in densely vegetated regions like the tropics. Professor Canuto explains that Lidar has revolutionized surveys, revealing a wealth of lost civilizations previously hidden from view. In contrast to earlier methods relying on manual ground surveys and simple instruments, Lidar has enabled archaeologists to map approximately ten times the area in a decade compared to the preceding century of traditional fieldwork in Mesoamerica. Auld-Thomas’s work indicates that countless undiscovered sites likely remain concealed, suggesting a vast untapped reservoir of Mayan history. The sheer number of newly identified sites, however, presents a challenge, as researchers acknowledge the impossibility of excavating them all. While Auld-Thomas expresses a personal desire to visit Valeriana given its accessibility, he concedes that comprehensive projects at every site are simply not feasible. The abundance of discoveries in the Lidar era presents a paradox: “One of the downsides of discovering lots of new Maya cities in the era of Lidar is that there are more of them than we can ever hope to study,” he reflects. This accidental find and the technology that enabled it have opened a new chapter in our understanding of the ancient Maya and the landscapes they inhabited, promising further revelations in the years to come.
This article is based on research published in the academic journal Antiquity and reporting from BBC News.
