Mayas

Our most-read stories of the year featured photographer Vivian Maier, underwater caves in the Yucatán Peninsula, auroras and more.

Ten Top Smithsonian Stories of 2024, From a Mysterious Underground Chamber to Dazzling Auroras

The magazine's most-read articles of the year included a close-up look at the adorable yet venomous pygmy slow loris, a profile of a little-known 20th-century street photographer and a majestic journey with divers into Mexico’s underwater caves

A 2019 drought allowed researchers to excavate some of the typically waterlogged canals.

Archaeologists Discover Ancient Canals Used to Trap Fish in Belize 4,000 Years Ago

Pre-Maya hunter-gatherers built the system in Central America in response to a drought between 2200 and 1900 B.C.E., according to a new study

The core of the Valeriana site contained a ballcourt and an architectural arrangement that indicated a construction date before 150 C.E.

'Found' Dataset Reveals Lost Maya City Full of Pyramids and Plazas, Hiding in Plain Sight Beneath a Mexican Forest

By analyzing an old lidar survey, researchers found evidence of more than 6,500 ancient structures in a previously unexplored area of Campeche

Massive columns and karst formations decorate the vast chamber of Cenote Xulo.

Divers in Mexico's Underwater Caves Get a Glimpse of Rarely Seen Artifacts, Fossils and Human Remains

Cenotes in the Yucatán Peninsula are time capsules preserving remnants of Maya culture and fossils of extinct megafauna

A little over a century ago, a limestone cave system north of Kuala Lumpur was reborn as a holy Hindu shrine, called Batu Caves.

From Cisterns to Temples, These Twelve Underground Worlds Are Open for Exploring

Some of these age-old subterranean spaces have even been transformed into amusement parks, art galleries and restaurants

When researchers excavated part of the ball court, they found a mysterious structure beneath it.

Researchers Unearth Mysterious Structure Beneath Maya Ball Court

Featuring painted stucco walls, the structure likely dates to between 200 and 600 C.E.

The vase dates to the Maya Classic period, which lasted from around 250 to 900 C.E.

A Woman Thrifted This Ancient Maya Vase for $3.99—and Then Gave It Back to Mexico

Anna Lee Dozier started to wonder about the object's origins when she realized it resembled artifacts in a Mexican museum

The skull rack at Chichén Itzá was created to honor the Maya's dead.

A Mass Grave of Maya Boys May Shed Light on Human Sacrifice in Chichén Itzá

Researchers have genetically tested the bones and made determinations of gender and family relations

This page from the Madrid Codex depicts the Maya honey harvest.

Centuries-Old Maya Beekeeping Tools Unearthed in Mexico

Archaeologists in the Yucatán Peninsula found several stone lids used by the pre-Columbian civilization to collect honey from stingless bees

The Maya played games like pok-a-tok, in which players hit a rubber ball through a stone circle such as this one in the ancient city of Chichen Itza.

Hallucinogenic Plant Unearthed Beneath an Ancient Maya Ball Court

Researchers have found evidence of a nearly 2,000-year-old ceremonial offering at the site in present-day Mexico

A carved pendant plaque of a human head found at the Ucanal burial site.

Ancient Maya Royals' Remains Were Burned in a Public Ceremony to Mark a New Political Regime

Archaeologists discovered charred remains of former rulers tossed "haphazardly" into a tomb in present-day Guatemala, suggesting they had been removed from their original burial sites

Researchers tested samples from seven ceramic vessels found on the ancient site of Cotzumalhuapa, and they found nicotine residue in three of them.

Mesoamericans May Have Drunk Tobacco During Rituals 1,000 Years Ago

New research reveals evidence of nicotine residue on vases unearthed in Guatemala

A 1,700-year-old mosaic jade mask and a carved femur bone found inside an ancient Maya tomb at Chochkitam, Guatemala

Archaeologists Discover 1,700-Year-Old Jade Mask Inside the Tomb of a Maya King

Located in Guatemala, the tomb also held rare mollusk shells, carvings and other funeral offerings

Fascinating finds unveiled in 2023 ranged from a 12-sided object that may have been used for sorcery to a lost Rembrandt portrait.

117 Fascinating Finds Revealed in 2023

The year's most exciting discoveries included a stolen Vincent van Gogh painting, a hidden medieval crypt and a gold-covered mummy

Aerial view of construction work on the Maya Train on August 31, 2023

First Section of Mexico's Controversial Maya Train Opens

The rail system, built to connect tourist destinations, has been criticized for endangering archaeological and environmental sites

The canoe was discovered in an underwater cave in 2021.

Maya Canoe Found in Underwater Cave May Have Been Used for Rituals

Archaeologists discovered the seven-foot-long vessel near Chichén Itzá two years ago

An inscribed stone found at the Ocomtún site

This Ancient Maya City Was Hidden in the Jungle for More Than 1,000 Years

Archaeologists surveying the ruins of Ocomtún found pyramids, stone columns and a ballgame court

More than two million people visit Chichén Itzá in Mexico each year.

Mexico's Chichén Itzá Is Getting a New Museum

Officials hope the new facility will attract an influx of tourists arriving on the controversial Maya Train

Chichén Itzá is home to famous Maya structures such as El Castillo.

Archaeologists Find Elite Residences at Mexico's Chichén Itzá

The housing complex is the first discovery of its kind in the ruined Maya city

An image created using lidar data shows the structures at Aguada Fénix, in Mexico.

Mesoamericans Have Been Using a 260-Day Ceremonial Calendar for Millennia

New research has the earliest evidence yet of when the timekeeping guide was used to mark the seasons

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