09-06-2025
Archaeologists Uncover 3 Never-Before-Seen Mayan Cities
Archaeologists working in Guatemala's Petén jungle have discovered three ancient Mayan cities, the country's Ministry of Culture and Sports announced in a statement.
The cities, arranged in a triangular pattern, rest roughly three miles apart from one another. They were incorporated during a period known as the 'middle preclassic' (1,000-400 B.C.), and remained inhabited until about 1,100 years ago. One site of particular interest to archaeologists, dubbed 'Los Abuelos' or 'the Grandparents,' contains stone sculptures of a man and woman which researchers believe depict the ancestors of the city's citizens. They posit that this site may have served as a ceremonial or religious second newly discovered city, dubbed 'Petnal,' features a 108-foot tall flat-topped pyramid which contains a separate room containing murals. Though most of the artwork has degraded, scientists were able to identify red, white, and black colors; however, further analyses will be required to determine what the murals actually depicted. The third city, Cambrayal, features an intricate series of canals which begin at a water reservoir atop the city's palace. Archaeologists believe these waterways were used for removing waste."It's especially exciting to learn about the Los Abuelos site," Megan O'Neil, an associate professor of art history at Emory University who was not part of the excavation team, told Live Science. O'Neill added that the stonework found at the sites "are especially poignant and are similar to many other examples of Maya people making offerings to vital sculptures and connecting with their ancestors by interacting with sculptures from the past." She believes these recent discoveries will "help reconnect items in private and museum collections with their places of origin and deposition, helping return memory to those ceramics, to these sites, and to Maya people living in this region and across the world."Archaeologists Uncover 3 Never-Before-Seen Mayan Cities first appeared on Men's Journal on Jun 9, 2025
