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Valeriana

LocationCampeche, Yucatán Peninsula, Mexico
Conventional dateClassic Maya city, peak about 750–850 CE (as reported).
Alternative date proposalsNone with significant published support that we know of.
What is measured
  • Identified in 2024 from reprocessed environmental LiDAR; 6,674 structures in the survey area. [1][2]

Found not by new fieldwork but by re-reading LiDAR collected for forest monitoring, a sign of how much remains hidden.

Claims about this site

ClaimStatusVerdict
LiDAR shows Maya lowlands were far more densely settled than thoughtMainstreamMeasured: far denser settlement than mapped before

Sources

  1. Auld-Thomas, L. et al. (2024). Running out of empty space: environmental lidar and the crowded ancient landscape of Campeche, Mexico. Antiquity. doi:10.15184/aqy.2024.148 data
  2. INAH bulletin (2024). Dan a conocer Valeriana, un nuevo sitio arqueológico descubierto en la selva de Campeche. https://www.inah.gob.mx/boletines/dan-a-conocer-valeriana-un-nuevo-si… background
  3. Canuto, M. A. et al. (2018). Ancient lowland Maya complexity as revealed by airborne laser scanning of northern Guatemala. Science 361. doi:10.1126/science.aau0137 data

Dates are summarised in our own words from the sources listed. Conventional and alternative dates are both reported; "measured" lists only dated or documented findings. Methodology.