Ancient Mayan pyramid — still topped with offerings — located by satellite in Mexico
With the human eye, the area between the Mexican towns of Conhuás and Constitución is empty.
The vast landscape, an unpopulated region of Campeche, consists of sprawling lowlands and wetlands dotted with stones and forest.
Now, thanks to a satellite orbiting the planet, the area is being explored for the first time, and hidden structures have been revealed.
During a 2023 LiDAR scan, a technology that uses lasers to scan the surface of the Earth, researchers noticed stone structures hidden in the environment, according to a June 24 news release from the National Institute of Anthropology and History.
When scientists went out to the area to check out the odd formations, they found an old governing center built by the Mayans, officials said.
It was named Ocomtún, according to the release, and was likely built and first occupied during the late and terminal classic periods, from around 600 to 1000 A.D.
The site had almost no agricultural terraces or canals, suggesting it was a smaller settlement with only a few larger structures, according to the release.
On one prominent hill, there was a main plaza, researchers said, which had a closed plan and a pyramidal structure on one side.
There was a tunnel built into the plaza where water would have been able to flow away from the structure, according to the release.
At the top of the pyramid, which is about 50 feet tall, researchers found what is thought to be offerings.
A ceramic foot of an animal was found as well as a flint spear tip, researchers said. The foot looks like it would depict a tepezcuintle, a Central and South American rodent, or an armadillo.
On the opposite side of the site, researchers found the remains of a ball court that was older than the buildings, from around 200 to 600 A.D., according to the release. The court was lined with stucco, a kind of plaster, and had traces of paint.
The offerings and pyramid are newer than the other structures, researchers say, and were likely built closer to the late postclassic period from 1250 to 1524, in the final years before the Spanish arrived.
Campeche is a state in southeastern Mexico on the northern side of the Yucatan Peninsula.
Google Translate was used to translate the news release from the National Institute of Anthropology and History.
This story was originally published June 25, 2024 at 2:15 PM with the headline "Ancient Mayan pyramid — still topped with offerings — located by satellite in Mexico."
