Another 'lost' Mayan city found, this one in Mexico

[Judi Lynn]

Another 'lost' Mayan city found, this one in Mexico
11:24 a.m. EDT June 21, 2013


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(Photo: Handout via AFP/Getty Images)[/font]

(NEWSER) – Just a week after news broke of a "lost city" discovered in Cambodia, archaeologists have uncovered an ancient Mayan city among the dense foliage of the Mexican jungle. The team has dubbed it Chactun (meaning red or large rock), and says it's one of the largest to be found in the Yucatan's central lowlands.

The numbers behind that claim: The 54-acre site would have once housed as many as 40,000 people, and evidence of 15 pyramids—one 75 feet tall—has been identified there. But the ruins don't end with those structures, LiveSciencereports.

The remains of plazas, homes, altars, inscribed stone slabs, and ball courts were found; the ball courts in particular indicate it was a prominent city, though one that met its end around 1000 AD, the team leader tells Reuters.

The search team first stumbled upon Chactun by way of aerial photographs taken 15 years ago; hacking their way through 10 miles of jungle took three weeks. The archaeologists spent six weeks exploring its secrets, and hope the find will offer clues on relationships between Maya cities—the closest known was 16 miles away.

http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/world/2013/06/21/lost-mayan-city-newser/2446003/

(Short article, no more at link)

[liberal N proud]

1. It's no wonder the Mayan civilization vanished

The couldn't find their cities and their calender was finite.

[Judi Lynn]

2. Archaeologists discover lost Maya city in Mexican jungle

Archaeologists discover lost Maya city in Mexican jungle
By Luc Cohen, Reuters
Posted: 06/21/2013 01:08:53 AM CDT
Updated: 06/21/2013 01:56:57 PM CDT

MEXICO CITY — Archaeologists have found an ancient Maya city that remained hidden for centuries in the rain forests of eastern Mexico, a discovery in a remote nature reserve they hope will yield clues about how the civilization collapsed around 1,000 years ago.

The team, led by Ivan Sprajc, associate professor at the Slovenian Academy of Sciences and Arts, found 15 pyramids - including one that stands 75 feet (23 metres) tall - ball courts, plazas and tall, sculpted stone shafts called stelae.

They named the city Chactun, meaning "Red Rock" or "Large Rock." Sprajc said it was likely slightly less populous than the large ancient Maya city of Tikal in Guatemala, and could have been home to as many as 30,000 or 40,000 people, though further research is necessary to determine an exact estimate.

Chactun likely had its heyday during the late Classic period of Maya civilization between 600 and 900 A.D., Sprajc said.

More, with photos:
http://www.twincities.com/travel/ci_23511824/archaeologists-discover-lost-maya-city-mexican-jungle