Discover the ancient Mayan city hidden under Guatemala old forest

Scientists used and found about 60,000 ancient structures hidden under the forest of northern Guatemala.

Scientists participated in a research project of the Maya Cultural and Natural Heritage Organization (PACUNAM) using laser scanning technology to detect traces of ancient cities hidden under northern Guatemala forest , Week today reported.

Laser scanning technology helps the team find ancient Mayan architectures.(Photo: National Geographic).

The new finding suggests that it is much more developed than what scientists have identified. Thanks to LiDAR aerial laser scanning technology, the team can "see" through the thick foliage of trees in the forest and discover the Mayan urban chain hidden below.

They found more than 60,000 ancient buildings, including houses, castles and highways. It seems that these architectures form a system of interconnected cities.

This prompted researchers to review the population estimates of the Mayan civilization. Previously, scientists believed that Mayan civilization had about 5 million inhabitants.

This figure seems too low, according to archaeologist Estrada-Belli."With new data, it is not unreasonable to assume that every 10 to 15 million people live there," he said.

The search for traces of Maya civilization has not ended. Scientists have just scanned more than 2,000 km ^{2 of} forest for the first time. They plan to continue scanning about 13,000 square kilometers.