Accessibility Statement Skip Navigation
  • Why PRWeb
  • How It Works
  • Who Uses It
  • Pricing
  • Login
  • GDPR
  • Create a Free Account
Return to PRWeb homepage
  • News
  • Resources
  • Contact
When typing in this field, a list of search results will appear and be automatically updated as you type.

Searching for your content...

No results found. Please change your search terms and try again.
  • News in Focus
      • Browse News Releases

      • All News Releases
      • Multimedia Gallery

      • All Multimedia
      • All Photos
      • All Videos
  • Business & Money
      • Auto & Transportation

      • Aerospace, Defense
      • Air Freight
      • Airlines & Aviation
      • Automotive
      • Maritime & Shipbuilding
      • Railroads and Intermodal Transportation
      • Supply Chain/Logistics
      • Transportation, Trucking & Railroad
      • Travel
      • Trucking and Road Transportation
      • View All Auto & Transportation

      • Business Technology

      • Blockchain
      • Broadcast Tech
      • Computer & Electronics
      • Computer Hardware
      • Computer Software
      • Data Analytics
      • Electronic Commerce
      • Electronic Components
      • Electronic Design Automation
      • Financial Technology
      • High Tech Security
      • Internet Technology
      • Nanotechnology
      • Networks
      • Peripherals
      • Semiconductors
      • View All Business Technology

      • Entertain­ment & Media

      • Advertising
      • Art
      • Books
      • Entertainment
      • Film and Motion Picture
      • Magazines
      • Music
      • Publishing & Information Services
      • Radio & Podcast
      • Television
      • View All Entertain­ment & Media

      • Financial Services & Investing

      • Accounting News & Issues
      • Acquisitions, Mergers and Takeovers
      • Banking & Financial Services
      • Bankruptcy
      • Bond & Stock Ratings
      • Conference Call Announcements
      • Contracts
      • Cryptocurrency
      • Dividends
      • Earnings
      • Earnings Forecasts & Projections
      • Financing Agreements
      • Insurance
      • Investments Opinions
      • Joint Ventures
      • Mutual Funds
      • Private Placement
      • Real Estate
      • Restructuring & Recapitalization
      • Sales Reports
      • Shareholder Activism
      • Shareholder Meetings
      • Stock Offering
      • Stock Split
      • Venture Capital
      • View All Financial Services & Investing

      • General Business

      • Awards
      • Commercial Real Estate
      • Corporate Expansion
      • Earnings
      • Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG)
      • Human Resource & Workforce Management
      • Licensing
      • New Products & Services
      • Obituaries
      • Outsourcing Businesses
      • Overseas Real Estate (non-US)
      • Personnel Announcements
      • Real Estate Transactions
      • Residential Real Estate
      • Small Business Services
      • Socially Responsible Investing
      • Surveys, Polls and Research
      • Trade Show News
      • View All General Business

  • Science & Tech
      • Consumer Technology

      • Artificial Intelligence
      • Blockchain
      • Cloud Computing/Internet of Things
      • Computer Electronics
      • Computer Hardware
      • Computer Software
      • Consumer Electronics
      • Cryptocurrency
      • Data Analytics
      • Electronic Commerce
      • Electronic Gaming
      • Financial Technology
      • Mobile Entertainment
      • Multimedia & Internet
      • Peripherals
      • Social Media
      • STEM (Science, Tech, Engineering, Math)
      • Supply Chain/Logistics
      • Wireless Communications
      • View All Consumer Technology

      • Energy & Natural Resources

      • Alternative Energies
      • Chemical
      • Electrical Utilities
      • Gas
      • General Manufacturing
      • Mining
      • Mining & Metals
      • Oil & Energy
      • Oil and Gas Discoveries
      • Utilities
      • Water Utilities
      • View All Energy & Natural Resources

      • Environ­ment

      • Conservation & Recycling
      • Environmental Issues
      • Environmental Policy
      • Environmental Products & Services
      • Green Technology
      • Natural Disasters
      • View All Environ­ment

      • Heavy Industry & Manufacturing

      • Aerospace & Defense
      • Agriculture
      • Chemical
      • Construction & Building
      • General Manufacturing
      • HVAC (Heating, Ventilation and Air-Conditioning)
      • Machinery
      • Machine Tools, Metalworking and Metallurgy
      • Mining
      • Mining & Metals
      • Paper, Forest Products & Containers
      • Precious Metals
      • Textiles
      • Tobacco
      • View All Heavy Industry & Manufacturing

      • Telecomm­unications

      • Carriers and Services
      • Mobile Entertainment
      • Networks
      • Peripherals
      • Telecommunications Equipment
      • Telecommunications Industry
      • VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol)
      • Wireless Communications
      • View All Telecomm­unications

  • Lifestyle & Health
      • Consumer Products & Retail

      • Animals & Pets
      • Beers, Wines and Spirits
      • Beverages
      • Bridal Services
      • Cannabis
      • Cosmetics and Personal Care
      • Fashion
      • Food & Beverages
      • Furniture and Furnishings
      • Home Improvement
      • Household, Consumer & Cosmetics
      • Household Products
      • Jewelry
      • Non-Alcoholic Beverages
      • Office Products
      • Organic Food
      • Product Recalls
      • Restaurants
      • Retail
      • Supermarkets
      • Toys
      • View All Consumer Products & Retail

      • Entertain­ment & Media

      • Advertising
      • Art
      • Books
      • Entertainment
      • Film and Motion Picture
      • Magazines
      • Music
      • Publishing & Information Services
      • Radio & Podcast
      • Television
      • View All Entertain­ment & Media

      • Health

      • Biometrics
      • Biotechnology
      • Clinical Trials & Medical Discoveries
      • Dentistry
      • FDA Approval
      • Fitness/Wellness
      • Health Care & Hospitals
      • Health Insurance
      • Infection Control
      • International Medical Approval
      • Medical Equipment
      • Medical Pharmaceuticals
      • Mental Health
      • Pharmaceuticals
      • Supplementary Medicine
      • View All Health

      • Sports

      • General Sports
      • Outdoors, Camping & Hiking
      • Sporting Events
      • Sports Equipment & Accessories
      • View All Sports

      • Travel

      • Amusement Parks and Tourist Attractions
      • Gambling & Casinos
      • Hotels and Resorts
      • Leisure & Tourism
      • Outdoors, Camping & Hiking
      • Passenger Aviation
      • Travel Industry
      • View All Travel

  • Policy & Public Interest
      • Policy & Public Interest

      • Advocacy Group Opinion
      • Animal Welfare
      • Congressional & Presidential Campaigns
      • Corporate Social Responsibility
      • Domestic Policy
      • Economic News, Trends, Analysis
      • Education
      • Environmental
      • European Government
      • FDA Approval
      • Federal and State Legislation
      • Federal Executive Branch & Agency
      • Foreign Policy & International Affairs
      • Homeland Security
      • Labor & Union
      • Legal Issues
      • Natural Disasters
      • Not For Profit
      • Patent Law
      • Public Safety
      • Trade Policy
      • U.S. State Policy
      • View All Policy & Public Interest

  • People & Culture
      • People & Culture

      • Aboriginal, First Nations & Native American
      • African American
      • Asian American
      • Children
      • Diversity, Equity & Inclusion
      • Hispanic
      • Lesbian, Gay & Bisexual
      • Men's Interest
      • People with Disabilities
      • Religion
      • Senior Citizens
      • Veterans
      • Women
      • View All People & Culture

  • Hamburger menu
  • Cision PRWeb provides efficient communication tools to continuously engage with target audiences across multiple online channels
  • Create a Free Account
    • ALL CONTACT INFO
    • Contact Us


      11AM ET Sunday – 8PM ET Friday

  • Send a Release
  • Sign up
  • Log in
  • Resources
  • RSS
  • GDPR
  • News in Focus
    • Browse All News
    • Multimedia Gallery
  • Business & Money
    • Auto & Transportation
    • Business Technology
    • Entertain­ment & Media
    • Financial Services & Investing
    • General Business
  • Science & Tech
    • Consumer Technology
    • Energy & Natural Resources
    • Environ­ment
    • Heavy Industry & Manufacturing
    • Telecomm­unications
  • Lifestyle & Health
    • Consumer Products & Retail
    • Entertain­ment & Media
    • Health
    • Sports
    • Travel
  • Policy & Public Interest
  • People & Culture
    • People & Culture
  • Send a Release
  • Sign up
  • Log in
  • Resources
  • RSS
  • GDPR
  • Send a Release
  • Sign up
  • Log in
  • Resources
  • RSS
  • GDPR
  • Send a Release
  • Sign up
  • Log in
  • Resources
  • RSS
  • GDPR

New Technology Unveils Scope Of Ancient Maya Metropolis Near Belize’s Chaa Creek
  • USA - English


News provided by

The Lodge at Chaa Creek

Feb 10, 2018, 10:10 ET

Share this article

Share toX

Share this article

Share toX

New technology shows that ancient Maya cities, such as majestic Tikal in Guatemala, were even larger than previously thought
New technology shows that ancient Maya cities, such as majestic Tikal in Guatemala, were even larger than previously thought
Youtube
Youtube

SAN IGNACIO, Belize (PRWEB) February 10, 2018 -- A recent New York Times article confirms what The Lodge at Chaa Creek’s Belizean naturalist guides have been saying for years – ancient Maya cities were far bigger than most people imagine.

Brion Young of Chaa Creek’s Natural History Centre in Belize’s Cayo District was discussing an article titled; “Lasers Reveal a Maya Civilisation So Dense It Blew Experts’ Minds” published 3 February 2018, by the New York Times.

We knew there was going to be more, but the scale of it blew our minds

Post this

“Many of us have been saying for years that ancient Maya cities and suburbs were much, much larger than most people believe, and this new research confirms that,” Mr Young said.

“People who live and work in the vast rainforests surrounding Chaa Creek are always coming across evidence of the ancient Maya, whether artefacts, habitation areas, underground storage vaults, temples and things like that. Not that long ago this area was home to loggers, chicleros who harvested chicle for the chew gum industry, hunters, medicinal plant gathers and other people who worked deep inside the jungle. You’d always hear about these ancient Maya discoveries.

“What’s interesting is that new, cutting edge technology is just confirming what our grandfathers have been telling us – that the scale and scope of the Maya civilisation is much larger than most people believe,” he added.

The NYT article describes how researchers using a new technology known as Light Detection and Ranging, or LiDAR, are now able to penetrate dense forest canopies to reveal structures that have been hidden for centuries.

Much like Sonar underwater, LiDAR uses laser beams shot from airplanes into the thick jungle foliage that bounce back to give detailed images of the surface below. Researchers are then able to interpret those images to create detailed models showing buildings, causeways, irrigation canals, agricultural terraces and other structures that make up cities and habitations.

And, as the article suggests, what researchers are finding is mind-blowing.

“Everywhere that we looked, there was more settlement than we expected. We knew there was going to be more, but the scale of it blew our minds,” Thomas Garrison, a National Geographic explorer and Ithaca College archaeologist reported from a LiDAR expedition in just over the border from Chaa Creek in Guatemala that uncovered some 60,000 homes, palaces, burial chambers, causeways and more.

Mr Young said a similar LiDAR project at the sprawling metropolis of Caracol in Belize also revealed that city to be much larger than previously believed.

At Caracol, Arlen and Diane Chase, after decades of hacking through the dense Belizean jungle, directed the University of Florida Caracol Archaeological Project, in collaboration with the Belize Institute of Archaeology that used a NASA funded LiDAR survey in 2009 to reveal that the ancient city extended miles beyond its previous supposed boundaries.

“It’s funny,” Mr Young said, “That we used the same words – ‘mind blowing’, when we realised just how large Caracol is.”

Why is a Belizean eco-resort so interested in new archaeological discoveries?

Lucy Fleming, who with her husband Mick opened Chaa Creek at their family farm in 1981 and oversaw its evolution as one of Belize and the region’s largest and most highly awarded eco-resorts, said archaeology and Maya culture was always part and parcel to Chaa creek’s development.

“We started Chaa Creek with a love affair with the spectacular natural beauty and rich cultural heritage that surrounded us. I think it’s impossible to live here and not feel a connection to the land and Maya culture it supported. There’s the intangible cultural identity that lives on today, and the many tangible artefacts, temples, vast ancient cities and other remnants of a fascinating, enigmatic civilisation that flourished all around us for thousands of years.

“Over time we’ve been able to preserve a 400-acre private nature reserve that contains some 70 recorded ancient Maya archaeological sites and the temple of Tunchilen, and it’s hard to dig a hole anywhere here without uncovering some ancient artefact. For example, when we dug an underground cable to put electricity into our gift shop, we unearthed a perfectly preserved ancient underground storage vault known as a chultun, that we’d been walking over for years.

“We’re happy to see that many of our guests become curious and then fascinated with the local Maya heritage, and cultural tourism is becoming more popular all the time. One of the best parts of promoting sustainable tourism is knowing that you’re helping to keep a link to the past alive, and awaken that connection to the past in overseas guests, students and local visitors.

“News like this New York Times article keeps interest alive, which in turn helps promote and preserve the Maya culture, and that’s a very good thing.

“Plus, there’s something exciting about knowing that this beautiful, lush jungle that surrounds us is filled with ancient mysteries just waiting to be revealed. We just keep waiting to hear of more discoveries,” Ms Fleming said.

The Lodge at Chaa Creek is a multi-award winning eco resort set within a 400-acre private nature reserve along the banks of the Macal River in Belize. It was recognised by National Geographic with first place honours at the 2017 World Legacy Awards held in Berlin.

ENDS

Mark Langan, The Lodge at Chaa Creek, http://www.chaacreek.com, +1 +612 6685 3683, [email protected]

Modal title

Contact PRWeb

  • 11AM ET Sunday – 8PM ET Friday
  • Contact Us

About PRWeb

  • About PRWeb
  • Partners
  • Partnership Programs
  • Editorial Guidelines
  • Resources

Why PRWeb

  • Why PRWeb
  • How It Works
  • Who Uses It
  • Pricing

Accounts

  • Create a Free Account
  • Log in
  • Contact Us

Do not sell or share my personal information:

  • Submit via [email protected] 
  • Call Privacy toll-free: 877-297-8921

Contact Cision

Products

About

My Services
  • All News Releases
  • Online Member Center
  • ProfNet
Cision Distribution Helpline
888-776-0942
  • Legal
  • Site Map
  • RSS
  • Cookie Settings
Copyright © 2025 Cision US Inc.