Archaeological site discovered in Campeche; They name it Valerian

The National Institute of Anthropology and History (INAH) reported yesterday the discovery of a new archaeological site, called Valeriana due to its proximity to the lagoon of the same name in Campeche.

The settlement, with an area of ​​16.6 square kilometers, It was discovered by INAH specialists and academics from the universities of Tulane, in Arizona, and Houston, Texas.says a statement.

These vestiges will allow INAH to learn more about the Mayan population density that inhabited the current state of Campeche in the classic period (250-900 AD). The site is occupied by vestiges of agricultural infrastructure and structures typical of that period.

According to an article published in the magazine Antiquity“in Valeriana two main centers with monumental architecture have been recognized that indicate the existence of a founding stage prior to the year 150 AD.

The largest architectural complex has closed plazas connected by a wide road, pyramidal buildings, a ball court, a reservoir formed by the dam of a stream and an architectural complex known as Group E, associated with the preclassical era.said the magazine.

These aspects were discovered through LiDAR coverage, as the technology used to map the terrain using laser pulses is known and which allows large areas to be mapped for forest monitoring purposes. This was carried out as part of the M-REDD+ Alliance project, led by the international organization The Nature Conservancy.

Adriana Velázquez Morlet, director of the INAH Campeche Center and co-author of the research, assured that This is an architectural style and urban density similar to that recorded by experts such as Ivan Šprajc, in the Chactún-Tamchén area, approximately 20 kilometers southwest of the state..

Meanwhile, institute personnel are coordinating to carry out a field reconnaissance of the site and establish communication with local populations to guarantee its conservation.

According to the scientific journal article Antiquity122 square kilometers of LiDAR coverage were selected for the study, within which it was possible to identify 6,479 structures, with a density of 52.9 architectural elements per square kilometer.

This density is comparable to that of Mayan sites such as Calakmul, Oxpemul and Becán.said Velázquez Morlet.

In addition to Valeriana, a couple of other blocks caught the attention of specialists: the first is close to the town of Xpujil and the Río Bec archaeological site, in which ornamental towers typical of this construction style, a system of caves linked to an architectural complex and agricultural structures similar to those studied by archaeologists Dominique Michelet and Eva Lemonier.

water storage

The remaining block would correspond to a scarce and modest population with scattered houses, without monumental architecture and with few works dedicated to water storage. This settlement includes the calls ring structurescommon in the Puuc region, which scholars such as William Ringle, Tomás Gallareta and Ivan Šprajc claim were used to produce lime.

Previous research showed that a large part of current Campeche corresponds to a landscape transformed by ancient settlers. Now this study shows that it was an urbanized region, with a high degree of variability, where rural populations interacted with larger cities..

In the short term, the INAH will carry out field surveys to expand the information obtained from LiDAR, with a view to defining the best strategies for the research, conservation and dissemination of the Mayan vestiges of antiquity, concluded Velázquez Morlett.