An Ancient Wonder of The Americas: Chancing Upon The Remains of a Lost Civilization

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An Ancient Wonder of the Americas: Chancing Upon The Remains of a Lost Civilization

In 1848 Small Bands of determined men were hacking their through almost impenetrable rain forest in the remote Peten region of Guatemala. Known as chicleros, the men were in search of sapodilla trees; the sap was prized as the main ingredient of chewing gum.

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The inhospitable jungle was inhabited by wild animals and snakes and deluged by 200 inches of rainfall a year. It seemed impossible that anyone could ever have lived in such a place. But to their surprise the chicleros came upon vast edifices that towered above the green canopy of the forest – buildings long since empty and abandoned to the jungle. Unwittingly, the chicleros had chanced upon one of the ancient wonders of the Americas.

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Image via Wikipedia

Rebuilding a City

The discovery soon came to the attention of archeologists, who paid the chicleros $15 for each building to which they were led. It was known that from about 600 B.C. a highly advanced and sophisticated people, the Mayans, had lived and built cities in the region of Peten. But the cities had disappeared long ago, and it was not known if the inhabitants had survived.

Although some preliminary excavation was carried out late in the 19th century, it was not until 1956 that a team from the University of Pennsylvania, under the direction of William R. Coe, started to excavate one of the oldest and largest of sites, Tikal.

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At laborers hacked back the forest, more than 100 specialists analyzed the discoveries. For 13 more years experts continued to sift and examine every square inch of soil, piecing together and virtually rebuilding six square miles of the magnificent city, less than a quarter of the original site.

Image via Wikipedia

Image via Wikipedia

Excavations within the area have revealed the existence of some 3,000 buildings. They formed a complex system of spectacular pyramid-temples, palaces, and monasteries that were once surrounded by verdant stretches of irrigated fields. The city appears to have been a labyrinth of multilevel, interconnecting buildings constructed with limestone and mortar. So advanced were their engineering skills that the Mayans built reservoirs and aqueducts to solve the problem of providing a continuing supply of water.

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Archeologists have managed to reconstruct some of the history of this mysterious people. But they frankly admit that they do not know what purpose Tikal served. Some say that the city was solely a religious or ceremonial center.

It is also difficult to understand how a large population could have supplied food for itself in a region that today supports only about two people per square mile. Estimates suggest that during the height Mayan civilization some 50,000 people lived in Tikal and outlying areas – around 200 per square mile.

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Means of Survival

Each expert has a theory as how the Mayans subsisted. Some authorities believe that they hunted and fished for their food. Others suggest that they practiced a highly organized and intensive form of agriculture, using advanced methods of irrigation. There are signs also of “raised field” cultivation. There are signs also of “Raised field” cultivation, which would have enabled Mayans to grow crops during the rainy season when the lowlands were flooded. But there is no doubt that the Mayans had to battle adverse conditions.

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Complicating the puzzle is the fact that after flourishing for more than 1,000 years, around A.D. 900 and Mayan civilization mysteriously collapsed, and cities such as Tikal were abandoned. Among theories put forward to explain the mystery: the Mayans were conquered by a less advanced people; food shortages led to a rebellion against the ruling class; an earth quake, a famine, a plague – or even another disaster – decimated the population.

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Whatever happened, over the years the city of Tikal became entombed by the jungle, its buildings gradually overrun by nature. Today the Peten region of Guatemala is still an isolated place, although it has been connected to the outside world by roads. Intensive searches for petroleum and minerals are under way, and the ancient Mayan sites are being developed as tourist attractions.

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Yet had it not been for the invention of chewing, the glorious Mayan civilization might never have been discovered.