https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/this-ancient-maya-city-was-hidden-in-the-jungle-for-over-1000-years-180982427/ Sections Smithsonian Magazine white logo Subscribe Renew Shop [ ] Subscribe Give a Gift Renew '' * Smart News + History + Science + Innovation + Arts & Culture + Travel * History + Archaeology + U.S. History + World History + Video + Newsletter * Science + Human Behavior + Mind & Body + Our Planet + Space + Wildlife + Newsletter * Innovation + Innovation for Good + Education + Energy + Health & Medicine + Sustainability + Technology + Video + Newsletter * Arts & Culture + Museum Day + Art + Books + Design + Food + Music & Film + Video + Newsletter * Travel + America's Waterways + Virtual Travel + Journeys + Newsletter * At The Smithsonian + Visit + Exhibitions + New Research + Artifacts + Curators' Corner + Ask Smithsonian + Podcasts + Voices + Newsletter * Photos + Photo Contest + Instagram * Video + Ingenuity Awards + Ask Smithsonian + Smithsonian Channel * Newsletters * Shop --------------------------------------------------------------------- SMART NEWS Cool Finds This Ancient Maya City Was Hidden in the Jungle for More Than 1,000 Years Archaeologists surveying the ruins of Ocomtun found pyramids, stone columns and a ballgame court Sonja Anderson Reporter June 26, 2023 7:15 a.m. --------------------------------------------------------------------- An inscribed stone found at the Ocomtun site An inscribed stone found at the Ocomtun site Ivan Sprajc via National Institute of Anthropology and History Researchers from Mexico's National Institute of Anthropology and History (INAH) have discovered the remains of a centuries-old Maya city in the Balamku ecological reserve on the Yucatan Peninsula. In a statement, lead archaeologist Ivan Sprajc says the settlement probably served as an important regional center during the Maya Classic period, which spanned 250 to 1000 C.E. The team named the newly discovered ruins Ocomtun--"stone column" in Yucatec Mayan--in honor of the many columns found at the site. "The biggest surprise turned out to be the site located on a 'peninsula' of high ground, surrounded by extensive wetlands," says Sprajc in the statement, per Google Translate. "Its monumental nucleus covers more than [123 acres] and has various large buildings, including several pyramidal structures [nearly 50 feet] high." Staircase building Ruins of a Ocomtun building, featuring a staircase Ivan Sprajc via National Institute of Anthropology and History Maya builders often centered their cities around pyramids like the ones found in Ocomtun, with the structures fulfilling religious purposes. Large, climbable pyramids like those at Uxmal and Chichen Itza were typically used for spiritual training and rituals, including sacrifices, reported Teo Spengler for USA Today in 2018. Others weren't meant to be touched, instead serving as sacred ornaments and convenient landmarks for navigation. The stone cylinders for which Ocomtun is named likely formed part of the entrances to upper rooms in the city's buildings. In addition to pyramids and columns, the statement notes that Sprajc's team found ceramics, three plazas, a complex made up of "low and elongated structures arranged almost in concentric circles," and a ballgame court. The Maya, the Aztecs and many other Mesoamerican civilizations played a game that featured balls made from natural rubber. "A source of sport and entertainment in ancient Mesoamerica, [the ballgame] also had important symbolic associations," representing agricultural fertility or "a battle between day and night," wrote Caitlin C. Earley in a 2017 essay for the Metropolitan Museum of Art. A light detection and ranging (lidar) scan of the site A light detection and ranging (lidar) scan of the site National Institute of Anthropology and History Researchers discovered Ocomtun with support from an INAH project that seeks to survey the largely unexplored, jungle-covered center of the Mexican state of Campeche. In March, light detection and ranging (lidar) scans of the area detected "numerous concentrations of pre-Hispanic structures," according to the statement. The aerial images prompted Sprajc and his colleagues to take a closer look at a "stretch of land larger than Luxembourg," reports Yucatan magazine. Closer to the La Riguena River, the team found similar structures, including central altars perhaps used for communal rituals. Architectural elements suggest Ocumtun's decline coincided with the broader collapse of Maya civilization between 800 and 1000 C.E. During that period, "dozens of core urban areas in the lowlands of the Yucatan Peninsula ... went from bustling cities to abandoned ruins," wrote Joseph Stromberg for Smithsonian magazine in 2012. As Sprajc says in the statement, alterations in the Ocumtun landscape reflect "ideological and population changes in times of crises that, finally, by the tenth century, led to the collapse of the complex sociopolitical organization and the drastic demographic decline in the Maya Central Lowlands." Get the latest stories in your inbox every weekday. [ ] [Sign Up] Sonja Anderson | READ MORE Sonja Anderson is a writer and reporter based in New York City. Recommended Videos Filed Under: Ancient Civilizations, Archaeology, Aztecs, Central America, Cool Finds, Mayas, Mexico Most Popular 1. USDA Approves First Lab-Grown Chicken in the United States icon USDA Approves First Lab-Grown Chicken in the United States 2. See the Titanic in Stunning Detail With New 3D Scan icon See the Titanic in Stunning Detail With New 3D Scan 3. New Study Identifies Mysterious Boats Painted in Australian Cave icon New Study Identifies Mysterious Boats Painted in Australian Cave 4. When Did Humans Start Settling Down? icon When Did Humans Start Settling Down? 5. Our Human Relatives Butchered and Ate Each Other 1.45 Million Years Ago icon Our Human Relatives Butchered and Ate Each Other 1.45 Million Years Ago Smithsonian Magazine Logo in Black Explore * Smart News * History * Science * Innovation * Arts & Culture * Travel * At The Smithsonian * Photos * Video Subscribe * Subscribe * Give a gift * Renew Newsletters * Sign Up Our Partners * Smithsonian Institution * Smithsonian.com * Smithsonian Store * Smithsonian Journeys * Smithsonian Channel * Smithsonian Books * Smithsonian Membership Terms of Use * About Smithsonian * Contact Us * Advertising * RSS * Member Services * Sustainability * Terms of Use * Privacy Statement * Cookie Policy * Advertising Notice (c) 2023 Smithsonian Magazine Privacy Statement Cookie Policy Terms of Use Advertising Notice Your Privacy Rights Cookie Settings