Large-scale early Maya sites revealed by lidar

Lidar images from one plane flight can provide more information than can be generated by decades of conventional archaeological surveys. Airborne lidar has been of benefit for the study of other archaeological sites in tropical forests, such as those at Angkor Wat in Cambodia3. [...]with the Maya re...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inNature (London) Vol. 582; no. 7813; pp. 490 - 492
Main Author McAnany, Patricia A
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published London Nature Publishing Group 25.06.2020
Subjects
Archaeological sites
Archaeology
Architecture
Field study
Historic sites
Lidar
Tropical forests
Guatemala
Mexico
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Summary:Lidar images from one plane flight can provide more information than can be generated by decades of conventional archaeological surveys. Airborne lidar has been of benefit for the study of other archaeological sites in tropical forests, such as those at Angkor Wat in Cambodia3. [...]with the Maya region farther east and the region to the west associated with Olmec societies (known for colossal stone heads from the second to first millennium Bc), Tabasco has taken a back seat in terms of archaeological investigations during the past century, despite its position between those two regions. At Aguada Fénix, in particular, the lidar data coupled with Inomata and colleagues' excavations substantially deepen our understanding of the social transformations that occurred there, and strengthen the argument that public architecture on a monumental scale pre-dated village life in eastern Mesoamerica.
ISSN:0028-0836
1476-4687
DOI:10.1038/d41586-020-01570-8