Archaeologists at the University of Arizona discovered the Neoancient Olmec and Maya sites in southern Mexico and western Guatemala, suggesting that the famous number 2 calendar was used as early as 3,4 years ago.
TakeshiInomata, an archaeologist at the University of Arizona, and his colleagues have discovered 478 independent new ancient Olmec and Maya sites in southern Mexico and western Guatemala by using a lidar remote sensing technology that stands for "light detection and ranging".
here, they found that people may have established the concept of calendar time in the city center at that time, and used the number 2 as the basic unit for writing calendars in the future. Subsequently, the study was published in the journal Nature Human Behavior on October 25th.
lidar remote sensing technology
lidar technology is a brand-new remote sensing technology with high precision and high efficiency. At present, there are nearly 2 sets of lidar technology systems in China.
Inomata said that lidar is a particularly valuable tool in Central America because it involves emitting laser beams from drones or airplanes to the ground, and these targeted light pulses actually enable researchers to peel off vegetation to see the shape of the ground, so that they can accurately measure the terrain.
this is particularly useful in Inomata's research, because although many population centers that researchers are looking for seem to be based on prototype cities built around 14 BC, there are still many buildings that have never been discovered, investigated or excavated.
although they are large, they are mostly horizontal in size, and many of them are now low mounds that may be only a few feet high. The larger square is only .6 miles to nearly a mile long, so it is difficult to see from the ground.
Through these lidar images, they finally found an Olmec site, San Lorenzo, which reached its peak between 14 and 115 BC, and a Mayan site which mainly occupied Agua da Phoenix between 1 and 8 BC.
most websites discovered by inomata and his colleagues are older than this. Although the exact date is still unclear, the oldest of these sites can be traced back to 1 BC, and the latest site may have been built before 25 AD, which is the beginning of the Mayan classical period and the peak of Mayan civilization.
It is found that
these sites have some similarities, and most of them have a similar layout. One end of a large square is surrounded by a large rectangular platform, and 2 smaller platforms are arranged on the east and west sides.
Inomata said that 2 seems to be an important number, which may indicate that the builders of these structures are already using a counting system based on 2.
TakeshiInomata, an archaeologist at the University of Arizona, said: Although the written calendar is centuries behind the website, it is an attractive sign that people actually have a calendar system based on the number 2.
The study area includes the Maya area and the area where the Olmecs lived in the early days. They built huge stones and pyramids over 1 feet, that is, 3 meters high. And they seemed to have designed their city around the early iteration of the Mayan calendar.
Inomata said that in this part of Central America, the day when the sun passes directly overhead is May 9 or May 1. Population centers often use the lining of 2 similar rectangular platform model squares to arrange the sunrise of a day related to the zenith passage, in order to catch the sunrise on some important days.
people will not catch up with the sunrise on that day in these places, but they do align with the sunrise 4 or 6 days before the passage, and these days are multiples of 2.
This shows that architects are counting down to the zenith passage and may have established the concept of calendar time in their downtown. At the same time, it also shows that many people take the sunrise as the guide on some important days and use the number 2 as the basic unit for writing calendars in the future.
Archaeologists believe that the square in the middle of these population centers was once used for religious ceremonies, so they may have used an early version of Zorkin. Before these sites were built, Mayan calendars didn't seem to be very important.
This new study also gives a more comprehensive picture of how Central American civilization developed. However, dense vegetation means that archaeological work may be difficult, and many mounds with hidden structures and cultural relics are integrated into the landscape.
Due to this unbalanced archaeological record, people still know little about how Olmec civilization and Mayan civilization interacted.
Subsequent work
Previously, the researchers conducted their own investigation in the eastern state of Tabasco, Mexico, and found a huge site called Agua da Phoenix there.
Aguada Phoenix, 33 to 5 feet high and .9 miles long, is a Mayan ruins composed of artificial plateaus. It was used between 1 BC and 8 BC, earlier than the researchers expected to start large-scale construction projects.
Inomata said that after discovering this site, the team hoped to expand their search scope.
So they combed the lidar data of southern Mexico and western Guatemala, and found these hundreds of new sites. The layout of these websites shows that people in this area are building old ideas and influencing each other.
This influence may come from the earliest large-scale site San Lorenzo, which was built by Olmecs in what is now Veracruz, Mexico.
San Lorenzo reached its peak from 14 BC to 115 BC, where there was strict social stratification, elite houses were located on a large plateau, and there were simple houses on both sides of terraces on the plateau.
Inomata said, one question is whether the Olmecs influenced the Mayans, or whether the Mayans developed independently to a large extent.
another question is how social class plays an organizational role in urban centers. It was once thought that society would become more organized and hierarchical, and then settle in one place to build complex towns.
however, Inomata said, the new research shows that the Maya people developed the theme change between 1 BC and 35 BC. Many of the early builders of these population centers were hunters, gatherers and farmers, and the convex square in their center was a pyramid or square building on one side and a long platform on the other.
They may move seasonally or every few years, and they seem to be in a society without Olmec social stratification.
Aguada Phoenix may have been a ceremonial gathering place for Mayans at that time. When Aguada Phoenix was built, people were already living in a non-hierarchical mobile society.
The pig said, "This is not a society ruled by kings, but a big project that people get together to do." .
The researchers think this is in sharp contrast with the nearby Olmecs, because the Olmecs may be ruled by kings and their social hierarchy is very strong.
Nevertheless, it seems that both groups built similar population centers around 1 BC.
Inomata said, "Now, we have a better understanding of these websites and their distribution, so we will really reconsider what happened in the meantime." .
However, there are still many questions about the chronology of development, many of which need to be excavated before we can answer them.
But the study area covers an area of 32,632 square miles, which should keep archaeologists busy.