Valeriana (city)

Valeriana is a Maya archaeological site in the Mexican state of Campeche near its border with the state of Quintana Roo. Its discovery was announced in October 2024, and the site was named after an adjacent lake.

Valeriana

Approximate location of the site Show map of Campeche Valeriana (city) (Mexico) Show map of Mexico
Coordinates	18°54′9″N 89°19′3″W / 18.90250°N 89.31750°W / 18.90250; -89.31750
History
Periods	Late Preclassic to Late Classic
Cultures	Maya civilization

Description

Valeriana's style and architecture matches that of the Chactún-Tamchen area to the southeast. The city contains multiple plazas, temple pyramids, a Maya ballgame court, and a dammed reservoir, all indicative of a political capital. Researchers estimate that the site contains over 6,500 structures. The site covers around 50 square miles (130 km²).

Particular architectural features known as an "E-Group assemblage" indicate the founding date as being earlier than 150 AD (in the Late Preclassic period), and the city probably flourished during the (Classic period) of Maya civilization (c. 250 – c. 900 AD). The density of building clusters in Valeriana is considered by the researchers to be second only to Calakmul. They estimate a population of between 30,000 and 50,000 at its peak from 750 to 850 AD.

Discovery

Researchers have known since the 1970s that the area around Xpujil was densely populated and engineered during the Classic period of Maya civilization, yet archaeological examinations of the area have been scarce.

The discovery of Valeriana was made by researchers from Northern Arizona University, Tulane University, the National Center for Airborne Laser Mapping at the University of Houston and the National Institute of Anthropology and History (INAH).Lidar data was used because lidar produces high resolution terrain data through forest cover, and has been used to discover other unknown Maya sites in the past. However, it being expensive, these researchers used preexisting lidar data from a 2013 forest monitoring project by the Mexican branch of The Nature Conservancy. The researchers plan further fieldwork, describing the ruins as "hidden in plain sight" only 15 minutes from Federal Highway 186 near Xpujil and cultivated farmland.

The researchers named the city "Valeriana", after a nearby lake called Laguna la Valeriana.

References

1. Weisberger, Mindy (2 November 2024). "Lost Maya city discovered in Mexico". CNN. Archived from the original on 2 November 2024. Retrieved 2 November 2024.
2. Auld-Thomas, Luke; Canuto, Marcello A.; Morlet, Adriana Velázquez; Estrada-Belli, Francisco; Chatelain, David; Matadamas, Diego; Pigott, Michelle; Fernández Díaz, Juan Carlos (29 October 2024). "Running out of empty space: environmental lidar and the crowded ancient landscape of Campeche, Mexico". Antiquity. 98 (401): 1340–1358. doi:10.15184/aqy.2024.148. ISSN 0003-598X.
3. Anderson, Sonja (29 October 2024). "'Found' Dataset Reveals Lost Maya City Full of Pyramids and Plazas, Hiding in Plain Sight Beneath a Mexican Forest". Smithsonian Magazine. Retrieved 2 November 2024.
4. Rannard, Georgina (29 October 2024). "PhD student finds lost city in Mexico jungle by accident". BBC News. Retrieved 29 October 2024.
5. Radley, Dario (29 October 2024). "Lasers uncover lost Maya city in Mexico, revealing thousands of previously unknown structures". Archaeology News. Retrieved 2 November 2024.
6. Jones, Sam (29 October 2024). "Lost Maya city with temple pyramids and plazas discovered in Mexico". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 29 October 2024.

External links

• "Boletín No. 676: Dan a conocer Valeriana, un nuevo sitio arqueológico descubierto en la selva de Campeche" (PDF). INAH. 30 October 2024.