Earliest Mayan ceremonial centre found Archaeologists have discovered the earliest and largest known monumental construction built by the Mayans, shedding new light on the rise of their civilization Aguada Fénix: Site found using LiDAR – remote sensing laser technology that creates 3D map of earth’s surface Mexico City OLMEC AREA Origins of Maya culture connected to Olmec civilization PACIFIC OCEAN Gulf of Mexico San Lorenzo La Venta MEXICO GUATEMALA Tikal El Mirador MAYA LOWLANDS Yucatán Peninsula Caribbean Sea BELIZE HONDURAS Copan EL SALV. NICARAGUA 100km 60 miles Elevated plateau 1,400m long and 10-15m high is bigger than La Danta complex at El Mirador – largest construction previously known in Maya lowlands East wing 1,400m West wing Main plateau Causeways Reservoirs Northwest plaza West plateau Aguada Fénix: Construction dated to around 950BC, suggesting Mayan ceremonial centres developed earlier than previously thought – building of El Mirador begun around 350BC Olmec area El Mirador Tikal Temple I Copan Temple 26 1,500 1,000 500 1 500 1,000 1,500 PRECLASSIC CLASSIC POSTCLASSIC Source: Nature Picture: Takeshi Inomata, inomata@arizona.edu © GRAPHIC NEWS