The ancient Maya people have been the architects of one of the most impressive civilizations of the last ten thousand years. The ancient society, which extended from the Yucatan Peninsula, Mexico, to Guatemala, Belize and Honduras, left behind a history that was engraved in stone, wood and ceramics, indelible in the region’s memory.

This is how a group of expert archaeologists discovered, thanks to the use of laser technology, more than 61,000 ancient Mayan structures in Naachtun, hidden by dense tropical vegetation and ignored for several centuries.

Ancient highways crossing the jungle landscape, farms and canals covered by swamps, huge pyramids and imposing fortresses camouflaged in their entirety by the thick jungle for hundreds of years that we can now know thanks to laser mapping technology LIDAR (Light Detection And Ranging).

The new information revealed will serve to rectify what the archaeological community knows about different anthropological aspects of ancient Maya society, such as population density, agricultural and food practices, as well as the conflicts that arose between the dominant dynasties.

The LIDAR system uses laser bursts to map an area, similar to radar, which can track what is hidden under the forest canopy. It was used to fly over more than 2,000 kilometers of forest canopy to gather accurate information on ancient constructions. Software then generates a 3D digital map. What was once thought to be unusable swamp, we now know was part of the most productive agricultural region for the Maya.

Thanks to this study, the most in-depth to date in Mesoamerica, we now know that for more than 2,500 years the ancient Maya not only masterfully modified their environment, but we can now surmise that between seven and eleven million people populated these lands during the Late Classic period.

Without a doubt the Riviera Maya holds many secrets and you can begin to discover them on your next vacation, so don’t forget to book your transfer service to the Riviera Maya.