PhD student finds lost city in Mexico jungle
A BBC report on a PhD student identifying a previously undocumented Maya city in the Mexican jungle via LiDAR data sparks broader reflection on how remote sensing is transforming archaeology. Commenters note that such “lost city” finds are becoming frequent in Mesoamerica, raising questions about how much credit to give high-tech surveys versus local knowledge, and about the bottleneck of actually excavating and protecting sites on the ground. The thread also touches on funding priorities, the risk that looters can use the same technologies, and wider speculation about how much of Earth’s ancient past may still be hidden beneath jungles, oceans, and time.
LiDAR, Mapping, and Methodology
- Several comments note LiDAR is increasingly used to find hidden sites, especially under jungle canopy, and that “lost city via LiDAR” headlines are becoming routine.
- One user asks for a global map of LiDAR coverage similar to Google Street View coverage; others discuss how mapping “coverage” is nontrivial and mention techniques like viewshed analysis.
- Some emphasize that finding structures in LiDAR is only the first step; meaningful archaeology still requires fieldwork and excavation.
“Discovery” vs. Local Knowledge
- Multiple comments criticize sensational claims of “discovering lost cities” that local communities already know about.
- Others argue that “discovery” can legitimately mean making insider knowledge available to the wider world or to scholarship.
- There is concern that dismissing local knowledge or not engaging with communities is both disrespectful and methodologically weak.
- Discussion notes that locals may know ruins but not see reasons to report them; also that local accounts can sometimes be unreliable or embellished.
Funding, AI, and Disciplinary Incentives
- Archaeology is portrayed as severely underfunded compared to trendy areas like AI, with specific grant figures cited.
- Commenters joke that adding AI processing to LiDAR will attract more money, reflecting frustration with current funding priorities.
Search, Serendipity, and Humor
- The detail that the PhD student found the dataset on page ~16 of Google becomes a running joke about unexplored “deep search pages” as a new frontier.
- Some debate whether this counts as an “accident,” since the researcher was deliberately hunting for LiDAR datasets.
Prevalence of “Lost Cities”
- Commenters note that parts of southern Mexico and Central America are dense with undocumented or little-studied Maya sites; “throw a stone and you’ll hit a lost city.”
- This abundance leads some to downplay the romanticism of such finds; others still express wonder and enthusiasm for visiting ruins.
Risks, Access, and Looting
- People highlight that jungle terrain is harsh and that proximity “15 minutes from a road” doesn’t make access trivial.
- There is concern that the same LiDAR and drone technologies can aid looters and grave robbers, not just scientists.