A thousand-year-old Mayan metropolis lay forgotten beneath Belize forest

Evidence

Hidden deep in the forest a mile from our camp was a lost Mayan city. Looming up from the dark floor of the forest were fifty-foot-tall pyramids—lots of them—all buried in detritus. Centuries of tropical growth and decay blanketed each pyramid; they sprawled like earthen hills covered with roots and vines, trees sprouting up from their sides. A thousand years earlier this had been the center of a thriving metropolis, the courtyard at the heart of an ancient city. Now, it was enshrouded in forest and forgotten. — Emlen, Douglas J, Animal Weapons_ The Evolution of Battle, 508

Categorization

• SEED: The lost-city discovery anecdote could frame a popular essay on how warfare shaped precolonial urban design.