In recent years, the lost Maya city of Valeriana has emerged from the dense jungle canopy of southeastern Mexico.

The discovery emerged thanks to LiDAR technology, a groundbreaking remote sensing method that uses laser pulses to map landscapes hidden beneath thick vegetation.

LiDAR Technology unveils Maya secrets

This technology has revolutionized archaeological practices, shedding light on civilizations once considered lost.

LiDAR’s ability to penetrate dense jungle has uncovered the layout of Valeriana, revealing an intricate network of pyramids, plazas, and causeways. The archaeological team responsible for this finding, led by researchers including PhD student Luke Auld-Thomas from Tulane University, identified this ancient city as lying less than a mile from a major road near Xpujil.

He discovered the hidden location by accident. “I was on something like page 16 of Google search and found a laser survey done by a Mexican organization for environmental monitoring,” said Auld-Thomas.

Valeriana once thrived between 750 and 850 AD, potentially housing as many as 30,000 to 50,000 inhabitants. The visible layout includes two major central areas linked by causeways, suggesting a hub of activity.

Valeriana: A hub of Maya culture and innovation

The identification of Valeriana represents more than just a geographical discovery; it challenges longstanding perceptions about the region’s history. Western narratives historically dismissed tropics as uninhabitable or unsuitable for thriving civilizations.

Yet, Valeriana’s findings showcase a vibrant society of complex interactions. This aligns with perspectives highlighted by academics such as Tulane Anthropology Professor Marcello Canuto, who asserts that these lands supported rich cultural landscapes.

“This was a hilly landscape. And on top of these hills are these large temples, these large pyramids, and all around would have been other small settlements or other houses,” Canuto told NPR.

“The landscape would be a mosaic of some forest patches, agricultural features and even roads and/or trails. So you could walk from one house to another and then eventually come to the center of the city, where there would be maybe a market or a ball court, where they would be playing the rubber ball game, right? And you would go and visit the center for particular economic activities or because of rituals, and then maybe, in the afternoon, go home.”

Despite its former grandeur, Valeriana eventually faced abandonment. Researchers speculate that climate change played a pivotal role in its decline. Evidence of large reservoirs suggests ancient Maya engineered solutions for sustaining their population.

However, severe droughts and overpopulation likely strained these resources, contributing to the city’s downfall. Such environmental stressors might have left the region unable to recover, pushing the Maya towards decline and dispersal.

Significantly, these revelations dispel myths about the Maya civilization’s simplicity. The Valeriana shows that the Maya lived not in isolated villages but in compact urban centers.

The dense infrastructure of Valeriana – which boasts 6,764 identifiable structures according to surveys by Auld-Thomas and Canuto – provides a narrative of advanced urban planning and architectural innovations.

The remnants, such as jade masks and an ancient ball court, reflect past trading activities and cultural interactions. These sites served both religious and recreational functions. A ball game, believed to have ceremonial significance, hints at its people’s cultural and recreational practices.

Furthermore, the Spanish conquest in the 16th century dealt another blow to Maya cities, contributing further to their decline and erasure from the historical record.