Hundreds of newly-discovered ancient ceremonial sites in Mexico reveal how the Mayans adopted a mysterious design trait from the older Olmec civilization more than 3,000 years ago, a study shows. Researchers have revealed that there are 478 ceremonial complexes that can't be seen with the human eye in modern-day southern Mexico, but can be detected with lidar scanning technology. The hundreds of ceremonial complexes are a combination of Maya and older Olmec sites, according to the study authors. Originating around 2600 BC, the Maya civilization thrived in Central America for nearly 3,000 years, reaching its height between AD 250 to 900. The Olmecs, meanwhile, were another Mesoamerican civilization who occupied the land earlier, from around 2,500 to 400 BC.

Researchers have uncovered a 1,500-year-old stucco mask of Maya ruler K'inich Janaab'Pakal. What differentiates this mask from others is it's seemingly made in the king's likeness. An eagle-eyed archaeologist has used a freely available online map to locate 27 Maya ceremonial sites in Mexico. Takeshi Inomata, a professor of archaeology at the University of Arizona, made the discovery using a LiDAR (Light Detection and Ranging) map he found online last year, according to the New York Times. LiDAR technology harnesses a laser to measure distances to the Earth's surface and can prove extremely valuable to study what is hidden in areas with thick vegetation.