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In Mexico, LiDAR (light detection and ranging) equipment uncovered what researchers say is the largest and oldest known Maya monument, while in neighbouring Belize, isotopic analysis of human remains provided the earliest timeline for the adoption of maize as a staple crop. The discovery at Tabasco near the border with Guatemala suggests the Maya civilisation developed more rapidly than previously thought and hints at less social inequality than in later periods, according to the international research team led by Takeshi Inomata and Daniela Triadan from the University of Arizona US. Known as Aguada Fénix, the monument lurked beneath the surface...

A resourceful archaeologist has made the stunning discovery of 27 new ancient Mayan sites—all without ever leaving his desk. Takeshi Inomata, an researcher at the University of Arizona, made his discoveries using freely accessible light detection and ranging maps (LiDAR for short) published in 2011 by the National Institute of Statistics and Geography in Mexico, according to the New York Times. The organization created the map, which surveys 4,400 square miles of land in the Mexican states of Tabasco and Chiapas, with an eye toward serving businesses and researchers. An even though the imagery is low resolution, it still suited...