Laser mapping shows the surprising complexity of the Maya civilization
Ancient Guatemalan cities were larger and more interconnected than thought
By Bruce Bower
A laser-shooting eye in the sky has revealed the previously unappreciated size and complexity of ancient Maya civilization, both before and during its presumed heyday, scientists say.
Maya people in what’s now northern Guatemala built surprisingly extensive defensive structures and roads as part of political systems featuring interconnected cities, starting at least several hundred years before the rise of Classic Maya society, an international team reports in the Sept. 28 Science. Classic Maya sites date to between around 250 and 900.