Mayas

Laser Scans Reveal 60,000 Hidden Maya Structures in Guatemala

Houses, fortifications, pyramids and causeways were among the discoveries

World's Largest Underwater Cave System Discovered in Mexico

The 215-mile sunken freshwater labyrinth is a trove of ancient Maya artifacts

Meet the Newly Named 86 Stars of the Night Sky

The new names are drawn from China, Australia, South Africa, Maya, Polynesian and Coptic traditions

In this Dec. 21, 2012 file photo, people gather in front of the Kukulkan temple in Chichen Itza, Mexico. Mexican experts said Wednesday, Nov. 16, 2016 they have discovered what may be the original structure at the pyramid of Kukulkan at the Mayan ruins of Chichen Itza.

Ancient Maya Heritage Comes Alive...With Some Help From Google and the British Museum

Victorian explorer Alfred Maudslay’s images are now available online for all to see

Chocolate was in North America as early as 900-1200 A.D.

A Brief History of Chocolate in the United States

Eating chocolate is a relatively new innovation

"This book was representative of an era during which colonialism and the associated conversion to Christianity oppressed the indigenous population in often violent ways,” says curator Gabriela Pérez-Báez.

A Rare Public Display of a 17th-Century Mayan Manuscript

With the book newly digitized, scholars are reinterpreting a story of native resistance from within its pages

View of La Danta—one of the world's largest pyramids—located in the Mirador Basin.

LiDAR Scans Reveal Maya Civilization's Sophisticated Network of Roads

Detailed aerial images reveal a remarkably ambitious transportation network consisting of 17 roads

A death god holds a prisoner captive in this page from the Grolier Codex.

New Analysis Shows Disputed Maya “Grolier Codex” Is the Real Deal

Archaeologists long thought the document was forged, but a recent study suggests otherwise

West acropolis at the Maya site of Yaxchilan, in Southern Mexico.

Ancient Maya Bloodletting Tools or Common Kitchen Knives? How Archaeologists Tell the Difference

New techniques for identifying the tools of sacrifice sharpen our understanding of the ritual

Images revealed by scanning the Codex Selden

Scan Reveals Rare, 500-Year-Old Mesoamerican Manuscript

Hyperspectral imagery reveals hidden Mixtec paintings and glyphs on the 16-foot, deer-hide Codex Selden

Temple where the remains of a body and two important hieroglyphic slabs were discovered in Xunantunich

Rare Maya Burial Temple Discovered in Belize

Excavations at Xunantunich have uncovered the remains of a body and hieroglyphics that tell the story of the snake-head dynasty

Deep Earth creepy crawlies, mushrooms making rain, and a Maya city buried in ash are just a few highlights from this year's collection of science stories.

Cool Science Stories You May Have Missed in 2015

Quantum spookiness, a Maya city buried in ash and more in this year’s surprising science

You Can Thank the Ancient Maya for Your Grocery Store’s Papaya

New research suggests the Mesoamerican civilization was responsible for first cultivating the hermaphrodite version of the plant favored by growers

An example of a pot used by the ancient Maya

What We Know About the Earliest History of Chocolate

We’ve learned things that could help today’s artisan chocolatiers improve their trade

A zoomorphic stone portal found at the re-discovered site of Lagunita

Two Maya Cities Found in Mexican Jungle

One of the sites was re-discovered after being lost for decades

The peak of La Danta—one of the world's largest pyramids—pokes through the forest canopy. "All this was abandoned nearly 2,000 years ago," says archaeologist Richard Hansen. "It's like finding Pompeii."

El Mirador, the Lost City of the Maya

Now overgrown by jungle, the ancient site was once the thriving capital of the Maya civilization

Sam Osmanagich claims that 12,000 years ago, early Europeans built "the greatest pyramidal complex" on earth, in Bosnia.

The Mystery of Bosnia's Ancient Pyramids

An amateur archaeologist says he's discovered the world's oldest pyramids in the Balkans. But many experts remain dubious

Tikal

The Mystery of Tikal

An ancient Mayan city, once hidden by overgrown jungle, evokes a childlike sense of wonder

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