Before the ancient Mayans dominated what is now the Yucatan Peninsula, their predecessors constructed a network of fishing canals.
The ancient Mayan canal network dates back to 4,000 years ago, making the discovery one of the oldest findings in Central America. The intricate network of canals was discovered in Belize by scientists using Google Earth and drones. The researchers, who published their findings on Friday in Science Advances, said that the canals were likely used from the time they were built in around 2000 BC to 200 AD.
Canals dating to the time prior to the ancient Mayans
According to the research team, the drone and satellite imagery of the area was vital in making the discovery.
“The aerial imagery was crucial to identify this really distinctive pattern of zigzag linear canals,” said study co-author Eleanor Harrison-Buck of the University of New Hampshire.
According to Harrison-Buck, the canals run for miles in the wetlands of Belize. Following a series of digs at the site in Belize’s Crooked Tree Wildlife Sanctuary, the team found that the predecessors of the ancient Mayans used the canals to catch catfish among other freshwater species.
The ancient canals had several ponds within them, and there, the scientists found evidence of the activities of ancient Mayan predecessors.
According to study co-author Marieka Brouwer Burg of the University of Vermont, they could have used “barbed spearpoints” to catch their prey, tying them to sticks and jabbing into the water.
Earliest large-scale Archaic fish-trapping
“This is the earliest large-scale Archaic fish-trapping facility recorded in ancient Mesoamerica,” the authors said in their study. “Such landscape-scale intensification may have been a response to long-term climate disturbance recorded between 2200 and 1900 BCE.”
The scientists suggest that the ancient canals were used during the years the Mayans were just starting to establish themselves on the land and laying the foundations for the eventual civilization that would last millennia.
“It’s really interesting to see such large-scale modifications of the landscape so early—it shows people were already building things,” said University of Pittsburgh archaeologist Claire Ebert to the AP.
The ancient Mayans would come to develop incredible cities, written language, irrigation, mathematics, and astrology throughout their existence. However, these ancient canals are one of the earliest markers of their capability to build one of the most incredible ancient civilizations.
The data and investigation of the study illustrate a connection between the Mayan empire and its predecessors. According to the team, the canals that were once used by their predecessors to catch catfish could have been one of the facilitators in the construction of the grand temples of the ancient Mayans.
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