The News
A 600-year-old pre-Columbian city was uncovered in the Mexican jungle using lasers.
The Zapotec civilization flourished between around 700 BC and AD 1521, until the arrival of European colonists. Archaeologists have for centuries known of a fortress on the site, about 320 miles (520km) southeast of Mexico City, which was abandoned shortly before the Spanish conquest.
Since the 19th century, explorers have found hints of a wider settlement, but forest cover prevented deeper investigation. Laser mapping technology has now revealed the “sprawling and well-preserved” remains of a city, including temples and ball courts, The Art Newspaper reported.
It follows a huge Mayan settlement found in southeast Mexico last year by a PhD student examining old environmental surveys, also using lasers.