Mexico Discovers Another Ancient Mayan City
2023-06-26
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1Mexico's human history agency says another ancient Mayan city has been discovered in forests in the southern part of the country.
2The country's anthropology organization INAH announced the discovery recently.
3INAH said the newly discovered city includes large pyramid-like buildings, stone columns and other structures placed in circles.
4The agency named the city Ocomtun - meaning "stone column" in the Yucatec Maya language.
5It would have been an important center between 1750 and 1000 years ago.
6The ancient city is in the Balamku ecological reserve on the country's Yucatan Peninsula.
7It was discovered during a search of a largely unexplored area that is larger than the country of Luxembourg.
8The search took place between March and June using aerial laser mapping (LiDAR) technology.
9The Mayan civilization was known for its complex mathematical calendars.
10Mayans controlled a large area in southeast Mexico and other parts of Central America.
11Political collapse ended the culture hundreds of years before the arrival of Spanish ships.
12The last Maya center fell in a military campaign more than three hundred years ago.
13The Ocomtun site has a central area on high ground surrounded by wet areas.
14Lead researcher Ivan Sprajc said in a statement that it includes several pyramid-like structures up to 15 meters tall.
15The city also had an area for playing a kind of game with a ball.
16Ancient ball games were widespread throughout the Mayan area.
17They involved passing a rubber ball representing the sun across a court without the use of hands.
18Players then tried to get the ball through a small stone hoop.
19The game is believed to have had an important religious purpose.
20Sprajc said his team had also found central altars, which may have been designed for community religious events, in an area closer to the La Riguena river.
21Still, more research is needed to understand the cultures that once lived there.
22The site probably declined around one thousand years ago judging from materials taken from buildings, Sprajc said.
23I'm John Russell.
1Mexico's human history agency says another ancient Mayan city has been discovered in forests in the southern part of the country. 2The country's anthropology organization INAH announced the discovery recently. 3INAH said the newly discovered city includes large pyramid-like buildings, stone columns and other structures placed in circles. 4The agency named the city Ocomtun - meaning "stone column" in the Yucatec Maya language. It would have been an important center between 1750 and 1000 years ago. 5The ancient city is in the Balamku ecological reserve on the country's Yucatan Peninsula. It was discovered during a search of a largely unexplored area that is larger than the country of Luxembourg. The search took place between March and June using aerial laser mapping (LiDAR) technology. 6The Mayan civilization was known for its complex mathematical calendars. Mayans controlled a large area in southeast Mexico and other parts of Central America. Political collapse ended the culture hundreds of years before the arrival of Spanish ships. 7The last Maya center fell in a military campaign more than three hundred years ago. 8The Ocomtun site has a central area on high ground surrounded by wet areas. Lead researcher Ivan Sprajc said in a statement that it includes several pyramid-like structures up to 15 meters tall. 9The city also had an area for playing a kind of game with a ball. 10Ancient ball games were widespread throughout the Mayan area. They involved passing a rubber ball representing the sun across a court without the use of hands. Players then tried to get the ball through a small stone hoop. The game is believed to have had an important religious purpose. 11Sprajc said his team had also found central altars, which may have been designed for community religious events, in an area closer to the La Riguena river. Still, more research is needed to understand the cultures that once lived there. 12The site probably declined around one thousand years ago judging from materials taken from buildings, Sprajc said. 13I'm John Russell. 14Sarah Morland reported on this story for Reuters. John Russell adapted it for VOA Learning English. 15___________________________________________________________________ 16Words in This Story 17anthropology - n. the study of human societies and cultures 18pyramid -n. a large, triangular structure made of stone or earth 19column - n. a long post made of stone that is used as a support in a building 20ecological - adj. describes a science that deals with the relationships between living things and their environment (ecology) 21calendar -n. a document that shows the days, weeks and months of a year 22hoop - n. a ring that a ball must go through in order to score points 23altar - n. a raised place on which gifts are offered in some religions