24
I was sure the 'lost city' in Honduras was just a story until the lidar scans came out
For years, I heard stories about a 'White City' deep in the Mosquitia jungle. I figured it was just a legend, like El Dorado. Then, back in 2015, the National Geographic team released those lidar images showing clear outlines of plazas and pyramids under the canopy. Seeing that grid of what looked like man-made structures, hidden for centuries, was what changed my mind. It proved there was a real, complex society there we knew nothing about. Has anyone else had a moment where a new technology completely changed your view on an old archaeological claim?
3 comments
Log in to join the discussion
Log In3 Comments
shah.shane27d agoMost Upvoted
Hayden, what stood out to me the most from those lidar images was how organized the layout was? The way those plazas and terraces were arranged showed a level of planning that we don't normally expect from a civilization that supposedly vanished without a trace. It really makes you wonder what else is sitting under untouched jungles all over the world just waiting for the same tech to reveal it. Victor's got a point about needing ground work though, lidar can show you the shape of things but it can't tell you what kind of tools or pottery they left behind.
7
victor_butler501mo ago
Seriously, what happens next? They can't just leave it as a lidar picture. When do the boots hit the ground to dig?
0