An archaeologist from the University of Arizona recently found over two dozen previously unknown Mayan sites all while sitting at his desk. Takeshi Inomata found a free lidar (light detection and ranging) map online and that’s what he used to make the huge discovery.

The lidar technology provides scientists with a way of scanning archaeological sites using airborne lasers. They can even see through dense forests and pick out shapes of old buildings and settlements that once stood at the location.

The free map that Dr. Inomata studied was originally published by Mexico’s National Institute of Statistics and Geography in 2011 and covered a total of 4,440 square miles in Tabasco and Chiapas, Mexico. While the map’s resolution was low, he was still able to find the ruins of 27 previously unknown Maya ceremonial centers. What’s even more incredible is that the ruins were constructed in a way that has never been seen before by archaeologists. Some of the large rectangular platforms that were very low to the ground measured as long as two-thirds of a mile and are believed to be as old as 1000 B.C. to 700 B.C.

Ancient Mayan temple

Dr. Inomata and his wife Daniela Triadan are currently leading excavations at the biggest ceremonial center (they named it Aguada Fenix) that was recently discovered in hopes of learning more about the Mayan culture’s rituals.

In 2005, he and his wife started excavating the ancient city of Ceibal which is located in the Petén rainforest in Guatemala. They uncovered several of the earliest known buildings in the Mayan culture with the ceremonial center being as old as 950 B.C.

“The stuff he is finding is crucial for our understanding of how Maya civilization developed,” stated Arlen Chase who is an archaeologist at Pomona College. For many years, Dr. Inomata has been interested in finding out how the Maya culture began between 1000 B.C. and 400 B.C. and his work is providing important information in figuring that out.

Charles Golden, who is an anthropology professor at Brandeis University, also took a look at some lidar maps and discovered numerous ancient settlements close to the Usumacinta River which borders Mexico and Guatemala.

In other news, a new study suggests that Mayans could have unintentionally caused their own demise by changing the climate. Researchers found evidence in Belize that indicates the Mayans created canals and wetlands to accommodate their rising population, as well as often performing “burn events” while they worked on their farms which created more carbon dioxide and methane in the air that they breathed.

Ancient Mayan temple

In a statement, the study’s lead author Tim Beach said, “We now are beginning to understand the full human imprint of the Anthropocene in tropical forests,” adding, “These large and complex wetland networks may have changed climate long before industrialization and these may be the answer to the long-standing question of how a great rainforest civilization fed itself.”

Takeshi Inomata identified this ancient Maya site, dubbed La Carmelita, using LiDAR maps, seen here in both low and high resolution.

Image courtesy of the Instituto Nacional de Estadística y Geografía/Nacional Center for Airborne Laser Mapping.

Takeshi Inomata identified this ancient Maya site, dubbed La Carmelita, using LiDAR. But the structures are difficult to see with the naked eye.

Photo by Takeshi Inomata.

According to their study, the Birds of Paradise wetland was “five times larger than previously discovered”. Additionally, they discovered another wetland field in Belize that was even larger. “These perennial wetlands were very attractive during the severe Maya droughts, but the Maya also had to be careful with water quality to maintain productivity and human health,” explained Sheryl Luzzadder-Beach who was the study’s co-author.

The increase in methane in the atmosphere is believed to have happened between 1,800 and 1,000 years ago which coincides with the growing number of Maya wetlands. “Even these small changes may have warmed the planet, which provides a sobering perspective for the order of magnitude greater changes over the last century that are accelerating into the future,” Beach stated. Their research can be read in full here.

How Lasers Are Utterly Transforming Our Understanding of the Ancient Maya, Bringing Their Whole Civilization Back to Light

A LiDAR scan can reveal ancient Maya ruins that might never be found by archaeologists on the ground

Archaeologists announced Sunday that they had discovered the remains of a massive bronze age settlement in northern Israel that could “change forever what we know about emergence of urbanization in entire area.” The site was discovered in Israel’s newest city, Harish, during excavations in preparation for a new highway interchange, which seems to be how about half of all recent history changing discoveries are made.

The 5,000-year old megalopolis covers 160 acres and is the largest Bronze Age settlement ever discovered in Israel. In addition, the Times of Israel reports that archaeologists found remains of an even earlier, 7,000-year old Chalcolithic settlement beneath the 5,000 year old buildings. That’s a pretty good find.  Dr. Yitzhak Paz, co-director of the excavation, says:

“It is much larger than any known site in the land of Israel — and outside the land of Israel — in the region of Jordan, Lebanon, southern Syria.”

Overhead view of the Bronze Age megalopolis discovered in Harish.

(Credit: Israel Antiquities Authority)

The site is filled with artifacts and that tell a story of a bustling Bronze age metropolis. The city was home to at least 6,000 people and traded with cultures all across the Mediterranean, and according to the archaeologists, the city was very carefully and thoughtfully planned. Excavation directors Itai Elad, Yitzhak Paz and Dina Shalem say in an IAA statement:

“This is a huge city – a megalopolis in relation to the Early Bronze Age, where thousands of inhabitants, who made their living from agriculture, lived and traded with different regions and even with different cultures and kingdoms in the area… This is the Early Bronze Age New York of our region; a cosmopolitan and planned city.”

Excavation directors (right to left) Itai Elad, Dr. Dina Shalem, and Dr. Yitzhak Paz, walk in a 5,000-year-old alley at the Early Bronze Age excavation site near modern Harish.

(Yoli Schwartz, Israel Antiquities Authority)

Thousands of youth and volunteers participated in the excavation at the Early Bronze Age excavation site near modern Harish.

(Yaniv Berman, Israel Antiquities Authority)

Archaeologists found remains of public and private buildings, streets and alleys, and a fortification wall surrounding the site. The site is in a fertile part of Israel and central to many trade routes, making it the perfect place for a large city. Two large cities, in fact. Dina Salem says in a IAA video:

“The excavation at this site revealed two main settlements. The earliest one is about 7,000 years old. It’s a very large agricultural settlement. Two thousand years later, another settlement became one of the first cities known in this area of the world.”

One of the buildings archaeologists discovered at the site is a temple that may shed some light on the spiritual practices of the Canaanites who lived in the city. The temple has a basin in the courtyard that archaeologists assume was used for ritualistic purposes, and a collection of burnt animal bones possibly used for sacrifices were found inside the temple.

Collection of figurines discovered at the ancient settlement.

(Credit: Israel Antiquities Authority)

Also found were tools, a mysterious cylindrical stamp of a man with his hands in the air, and several figurines of people and animals and tools imported from Egypt.

According to Yitzhak Paz, once it is fully researched and investigated, this site will rewrite history. He says:

“The study of this site will change forever what we know about the emergence [and] rise of urbanization in the land of Israel and in the whole region. And it means that what we know now will change what is written today in the traditional books when people read about the archaeology of Israel.”

And as far as the planned highway interchange goes, they decided to just build it higher up as to not destroy the settlement.

George Adamski

It’s worth noting that George Adamski was, in fact, watched closely by several intelligence agencies in 1959 – and, in part, in relation to the matter of Russia and communism. Adamski’s trip to New Zealand took him to Wellington and Auckland. Notably, this lecture-tour was of interest to the world of government, and Adamski’s presentations were clandestinely scrutinized by various government operatives. A Foreign Service Dispatch of February 1959 was sent from the American Embassy in New Zealand to the Department of State in Washington, D.C., that summarized Adamski’s activities in New Zealand. Also forwarded to the FBI, the CIA, the U.S. Air Force and the U.S. Navy, the report was titled “‘Flying Saucer’ Expert Lecturing In New Zealand” and recorded the following, amusing information:

“Mr. George Adamski, the Californian ‘flying saucer expert’ and author of the book Flying Saucers Have Landed and others, has been visiting New Zealand for the last two weeks. He has given well-attended public lectures in Auckland and Wellington as well as meetings with smaller groups of ‘saucer’ enthusiasts. In Wellington his lecture filled the 2,200 seats in the Town Hall. He was not permitted to charge for admission as the meeting was held on a Sunday night, but a ‘silver coin’ collection was taken up and this would more than recoup his expenses.”

The document continues in equally amusing fashion: “Adamski’s lectures appear to cover the usual mass of sighting reports, pseudo-scientific arguments in support of his theories and his previously well-publicized ‘contacts’ with saucers and men from Venus. He is repeating his contention that men from other planets are living anonymously on the earth and, according to the press, said in Auckland that there may be as many as 40,000,000 of these in total. He is also making references to security restrictions and saying that the U.S. authorities know a lot more than they will tell.  The report of Adamski’s lecture in Wellington in The Dominion was flanked by an article by Dr. I.L. THOMPSON, Director of the Carter Observatory, vigorously refuting Adamski on a number of scientific points. However, the news report of the lecture called it ‘the best Sunday night’s entertainment Wellington has seen for quite a time.'”

Moving on, there is this from the authorities who had Adamski under surveillance: “Interest in flying saucers in New Zealand seems to be roughly comparable to that in the United States. There is a small but active organization which enthusiasts have supported for some years. This organization publishes a small paper and receives and circulates stories of sightings. At the Adamski lecture in Wellington, approximately 40 members of the ‘Adamski Corresponding Society’ wore blue ribbons and sat in reserved seats in the front row. Press reports suggest that Adamski probably is making no new converts to saucer credence in his current tour. His audiences have given forth with a certain amount of ‘incredulous murmuring’ and are said to be totally unimpressed with his pictures of saucers.”

In late 1959, Adamski was the topic of FBI interest when an American citizen (whose name is deleted from the FBI records) offered an opinion that Adamski was using the UFO controversy as a means to promote communism and the Russian way of life. In a report on the affair, the FBI recorded the following: “[Censored] said that in recent weeks she and her husband had begun to wonder if Adamski is subtly spreading Russian propaganda. She said that, according to Adamski, the ‘space people’ are much better people than those on earth; that they have told him the earth is in extreme danger from nuclear tests and that they must be stopped; that they have found peace under a system in which churches, schools, individual governments, money, and private property were abolished in favor of a central governing council, and nationalism and patriotism have been done away with; that the ‘space people’ want nuclear tests stopped immediately and that never should people on earth fight; if attacked, they should lay down their arms and welcome their attackers.”

“[Censored] said the particular thing that first made her and her husband wonder about Adamski was a letter they received from him dated 10/12/59, in which it was hinted that the Russians receive help in their outer space programs from the ‘space people,’ and that the ‘space people’ will not help any nation unless such nation has peaceful intent. It occurred to them that the desires and recommendations of the ‘space people’ whom Adamski quotes are quite similar to Russia’s approach, particularly as to the ending of nuclear testing, and it was for this reason she decided to call the FBI.”

Finally, there’s more to come on all of this. It’s something that will help to resolve some of the early “Men in Black” encounters in 1950s-era New Zealand. Stay tuned.

One report of a UFO sighting is interesting. A report of a UFO over a refinery is intriguing. Multiple reports of UFOs over the same refinery in a town known for UFO sightings demands attention … and possibly a government or military investigation. Welcome to Ciudad Madero, a Mexican coastal city in southeast Tamaulipas on the Gulf of Mexico where a UFO was seen and recorded by many people, reported by multiple media sites and raised questions about why UFOs seem to be attracted to refineries and mineral mines, especially in Mexico and Central and South America.

“Photographs of an alleged unidentified flying object (UFO) flying over the facilities of the “ Francisco I. Madero ” Refinery in Pemex , in Ciudad Madero , Tamaulipas , have begun to circulate through social networks.

These facts were reported by public transport operators, in addition to the same workers of the parastatal, who recognize that this type of sightings is not something new.”

El Heraldo de Mexico reports that the UFO sighting occurred on October 12 between 6:50 and 7:00 am and was witnessed by numerous workers. Along with photos of the ring of lights above the refinery (see them here), El Heraldo reminds readers of the “urban legend” of an extraterrestrial ship located just offshore of the city that many believe is there to protect it from hurricanes and tropical storms. The El Rrun Rrun blog shows more photos of the sightings and says that the state’s Direccion de Proteccion Civil (Civil Defense) has received over 50 reports of UFOs in Tamaulipas since October 22, 2008.

“Since the terrible catastrophe caused by Hurricane Hilda in 1955, Tampico seems to be immune to natural disasters. A popular belief says that about 800 meters deep at Miramar Beach, located in Ciudad Madero, an extraterrestrial base was established that protects the coast. It is not uncommon to hear tampiqueños talk about strange lights coming out of the sea or flying saucers guarding the city. The belief in extraterrestrial beings has taken so much strength that on that coast the Martian Day is celebrated on the last Tuesday of each month. On one of these Tuesdays, the municipality of Ciudad Madero unveiled a monument to aliens which, unfortunately, was the victim of robbery within a few weeks.”

In 2015, Vice.com interviewed three of the many UFO witnesses in Ciudad Madero who believe the “urban legend” and the BBC talked to members of Tampico UFO Scientific Research Association, including Eduardo Anguiano Ortiz, author of “On UFOs, Ghosts and Other Extraordinary Events” who claimed to have talked to over 100 other UFO witnesses and concluded:

“To doubt the existence of UFOs is to have no intelligence.”

Many people like Guillermo H. Sosa Tovar, who shared the images on Facebook, agree. So do local authorities according to the 2015 BBC article.

“The last time a hurricane that was heading towards the Tampico area was diverted was in 2013. That year, local authorities placed the bust of a Martian in Playa Miramar (which was stolen shortly afterwards) and declared that the Martian’s Day would be celebrated on the last Tuesday of October.”

Guillermo H. Sosa Tovar

12 oktober om 13:54 · 

Ovnis en Cd. Madero, Tamaulipas (Fotos tomadas en este frente frio por unas mujeres maderences cercas de la Refinería)

Juzguen ustedes mismos, existe la creencia que hay una base alienígena a unos kilómetros de la Escollera de Playa Miramar

Vertaling bekijken

Ufologists have long speculated that sightings over refineries, mines and volcanoes – all common in Mexico – could be extraterrestrial ships refueling or getting parts. Skeptics point out that gasoline is a poor fuel for long-distance travel and believe Martian Day is just a way to attract tourists to this poor city. (Did they see how well this worked out on Storm Area 51 weekend?)

Which way to Martian Day?

“I have many friends who have told me about ships leaving the sea. Even other fishermen have told me that when they go out at night or at dawn, they see very large, very powerful lights that follow them on their routes. Many serious people they told me about things that happened to them. I think it was a ship, they visit us.”

A fisherman named Guadalupe told Vice.com why he believes. Did these same visitors hover their craft over the Pemex refinery in Ciudad Madero on October 12? There appears to have been no interviews with the workers and no official explanation given, leaving locals to draw their own conclusions.

“To doubt the existence of UFOs is to have no intelligence.”

What do you think they believe?