Valeriana (archaeological site)
{{Short description|Ancient Maya city in Campeche, Mexico}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=November 2024}}
{{Infobox ancient site
| name = Valeriana
| coordinates ={{Wikidatacoord|Q130730158|type:landmark_region:MX-CAM|display=inline,title}}
| map_caption = Approximate location of the site
| cultures = Maya civilization
| epochs = Late Preclassic to Late Classic
| map_type = Mexico Campeche#Mexico
}}
{{Maya civilization}}
Valeriana is a Maya archaeological site in the Mexican state of Campeche in the tropical rainforest jungle near its eastern border with the state of Quintana Roo.{{Cite news |last=Weisberger |first=Mindy |date=2 November 2024 |title=Lost Maya city discovered in Mexico |url=https://edition.cnn.com/2024/11/02/science/maya-city-discovered-valeriana-mexico/index.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://archive.today/20241102115010/https://www.cnn.com/2024/11/02/science/maya-city-discovered-valeriana-mexico/index.html |archive-date=2 November 2024 |access-date=2 November 2024 |work=CNN}} Its discovery was announced in October 2024, and the site was named after an adjacent lake.{{Cite journal |last=Auld-Thomas |first=Luke |last2=Canuto |first2=Marcello A. |last3=Morlet |first3=Adriana Velázquez |last4=Estrada-Belli |first4=Francisco |last5=Chatelain |first5=David |last6=Matadamas |first6=Diego |last7=Pigott |first7=Michelle |last8=Fernández Díaz |first8=Juan Carlos |date=29 October 2024 |title=Running out of empty space: environmental lidar and the crowded ancient landscape of Campeche, Mexico |journal=Antiquity |volume=98 |issue=401 |pages=1340–1358 |doi=10.15184/aqy.2024.148 |issn=0003-598X}}
Description
The city layout pattern and architecture of Valeriana matches that of the Chactún-Tamchen area to the southeast of the site. The city contains multiple plazas, temple pyramids, a ballgame court, and a dammed reservoir. All these elements are indicative of a Mayan political capital. Researchers estimate that the site contains more than 6,500 structures.{{Cite news |last=Anderson |first=Sonja |date=29 October 2024 |title='Found' Dataset Reveals Lost Maya City Full of Pyramids and Plazas, Hiding in Plain Sight Beneath a Mexican Forest |url=https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/found-dataset-reveals-lost-maya-city-hiding-in-plain-sight-beneath-a-mexican-forest-180985354/ |access-date=2 November 2024 |work=Smithsonian Magazine}} The site covers approximately {{convert|47|sqmi|order=flip}}.
Particular architectural features known as an "E-Group assemblage" indicate the founding date as being earlier than 150 AD (in the Late Preclassic period), and the city probably flourished during the Classic period of Maya civilization ({{Circa|250|900}} AD). The researchers consider the density of building clusters in Valeriana to be second only to Calakmul. They estimate a human population of between 30,000 and 50,000 during the cultural peak of the city, from 750 to 850 AD.{{Cite web |last=Rannard |first=Georgina |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/crmznzkly3go |title=PhD student finds lost city in Mexico jungle by accident |work=BBC News |date=29 October 2024 |access-date=29 October 2024 |language=en-GB }} Additionally, researchers believe that Valeriana's social structure and urban density may indicate a highly diverse, organised society in which its residents regularly interacted with their rural neighbours.
Discovery
Researchers have known since the 1970s that the area around Xpujil was densely populated and engineered during the Classic period of Maya civilization, yet archaeological examinations of the area have been scarce due to the density of the forest.
The discovery of Valeriana was made by researchers from Northern Arizona University, Tulane University, the National Center for Airborne Laser Mapping at the University of Houston, and Mexico's National Institute of Anthropology and History (INAH).{{Cite news |last=Radley |first=Dario |date=29 October 2024 |title=Lasers uncover lost Maya city in Mexico, revealing thousands of previously unknown structures |url=https://archaeologymag.com/2024/10/lasers-uncover-lost-maya-city-in-mexico/ |access-date=2 November 2024 |work=Archaeology News}} Lidar data was used because Lidar produces high resolution terrain data through forest cover, and the technology has been used to discover other unknown Maya sites in the past. However, it being expensive, these researchers used preexisting Lidar data from a 2013 forest monitoring project by the Mexican branch of The Nature Conservancy.{{Cite news |last=Jones |first=Sam |date=29 October 2024 |title=Lost Maya city with temple pyramids and plazas discovered in Mexico |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2024/oct/29/lost-maya-city-valeriana-mexico-temple-pyramids-plazas |access-date=29 October 2024 |work=The Guardian |language=en-GB |issn=0261-3077}} The researchers plan further fieldwork, describing the ruins as "hidden in plain sight" only a 15-minute walk from Federal Highway 186 near Xpujil and cultivated farmland.
The researchers named the site "Valeriana", after a nearby lake named Laguna la Valeriana.
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
- {{Cite web |date=30 October 2024 |title=Boletín No. 676: Dan a conocer Valeriana, un nuevo sitio arqueológico descubierto en la selva de Campeche |url=https://inah.gob.mx/images/boletines/2024/676/Boletin%20676.pdf |publisher=INAH}}
{{Maya sites}}
Category:1st-century establishments in the Maya civilization
Category:2024 archaeological discoveries