Laser finds ancient “lost city” with 40,000 buildings in Michoacán, Mexico

Austin (USA), (EFE) .- A group of scientists discovered through laser technology a pre-Columbian ancient metropolis of 26 square kilometers, located in the state of Michoacán (Mexico), which could have more buildings and constructions than there are currently on the island of Manhattan, in New York.

The city receives the name of Angamuco and, according to the investigations, its near 40,000 constructions were abandoned by their settlers, the Purépecha civilization, after being covered with lava thousands of years ago.

The team discussed at the annual meeting of the American Association for Scientific Advancement, held in Austin (Texas), that Angamuco has an “unusual” design, with monuments such as pyramids and open plazas largely concentrated in eight zones on the edges of the city, instead of the classical layout with a large center.

According to Christopher Fisher, professor of anthropology at the University of Colorado State, it is believed that more than 100,000 people lived there between approximately 1000 and 1350 AD.

“It is believed that the whole region was significantly less populated at the time when the European “Conquistadors” arrived on the continent,” explained Fisher.

This innovative research technique, known as LiDAR, applies multiple laser pulses to the surface from an airplane to “take a photo” of the earth’s depth.

In Fisher’s opinion, it is “incredible” to think that “the largest city” known so far of this period has been hidden in the heart of Michoacan, Mexico for so long.

“The traditional methods of archaeological surveys in the field would take 20 years to collect as much data as two days of work with this kind of technology,” added the university professor.

For his part, the specialized engineer from the University of Houston Juan Carlos Fernández-Díaz assessed that thanks to LiDAR they can find locations in areas where they would not think that primitive civilizations could live.

One month ago, researchers applied this mega state-of-the-art laser to discover an ancient Mayan city deep in the jungle of Guatemala, not too far from Tikal, and also at Mosquita forest, northwest Honduras, another city built by the same ancient civilization.

Source: Diario de Yucatán

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