An Ancient Mayan city found in Mexican jungle

An international archaeologists team found an ancient Mayan city hidden for centuries in the rain forest east of Mexico. The discovery of the ancient city in a remote nature reserve is producing guidance on how the civilization collapsed 1,000 years ago.

A sculpted stone shaft called stelae is pictured 
at the newly discovered ancient Maya city 
Chactun in Yucatan peninsula in this undated 
handout picture by National Institute of 
Anthropology and History (INAH) made 
available to Reuters June 18, 2013.
(Picture from: http://www.latinospost.com/)

The research team led by Ivan Sprajc, a researcher of the Slovenian Academy of Arts and Sciences, was found 15 pyramids, ball courts, plazas, and structural characteristics of Mayan civilization. The city is nicknamed "Chactun", which means "red rock" or "big rock". By studying the debris, they hope to uncover information why the ancient civilization collapsed in the past millennium.

Sprajc estimated the city had a population of less than Tikal, the ancient Mayan city in Guatemala, with a population of about 30 thousand or 40 thousand people. Chactun estimated to have a heyday during the classic period of Mayan civilization between 600 and 900 AD.

The city was first revealed when Sprajc see aerial photos of the nature reserve, 15 years ago. The team of scientists through the forest as far as 10 miles in six weeks to get to the city.

Sprajc said the site of 22 hectares and is located 75 kilometers west of Chetumal This is one of the largest sites that are found in the lowlands of the Yucatan. The nearest settlement to the ruins of a small town Xpujil located about 16 miles away. "The whole site is covered by forests," he said, on Wednesday, June 18, 2013.

Sculpted stone shafts called stelae are pictured at the newly discovered ancient Maya city Chactun in Yucatan peninsula in this May 31, 2013 handout picture by National Institute of Anthropology and History (INAH) made available to Reuters June 18, 2013. (Picture from: http://www.latinospost.com/)

He also found evidence that someone else had already found this site about 20-30 years ago. "Woodcutter and rubber tappers obviously never been there, because we see the incision on the tree," said Sprajc. "But they never told anyone."

According to Sprajc, the existence of several football fields indicate that Chactun is an important city. It's possible that the city was abandoned in 1000 AD due to demographic pressures, climate change, war, and rebellion. *** [EKA | FROM VARIOUS SOURCES  | LATINOS POST| REUTERS | ROSALINA | KORAN TEMPO 4268]

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