Newly discovered ancient Maya structures indicate organization on a massive scale

GUATEMALA CITY – The tens of thousands of ancient Maya houses, buildings, defense works and pyramids that have been discovered in the dense jungle of Guatemala's Peten region suggest that millions more people lived there than previously thought. The discoveries, which included industrial-size agricultural fields and irrigation canals, were announced Thursday by an alliance of U.S., European and Guatemalan archaeologists working with Guatemala's Mayan Heritage and Nature Foundation. The study estimates that roughly 10 million people may have lived within the Maya Lowlands, so massive food production might have been needed. "That is two to three times more (inhabitants) than people were saying there were," said Marcello A. Canuto, a professor of Anthropology at Tulane University. Researchers used a mapping technique called LiDAR, which stands for light detection and ranging.