Talk About Lost And Hidden Cities In Mesoamerica

[poulsenll]

Three new extencive archeological ruins found by LIDAR. No pictures or dating yet available but a ground expedition is planned for next year.

http://www.npr.org/2013/05/06/181636289/how-technology-is-transforming-archaeology

Larry P

[rodheadlee]

Very cool, Douglas Preston is one of my favorite authors!

[ERayR]

You mean it hasn't all been found, explored and analyzed yet? I thought that it was all done and over with.

[Calm]

Three new extencive archeological ruins found by LIDAR. No pictures or dating yet available but a ground expedition is planned for next year.

It must be very exciting to be in the field of archaeology these days. Granted that digging in a site you never knew what you might find for sure, but nowadays it is easier to find completely new sites...to go where no one has gone before so to speak.

[Salem]

Three new extencive archeological ruins found by LIDAR. No pictures or dating yet available but a ground expedition is planned for next year.

http://www.npr.org/2...ing-archaeology

Larry P

This is really exciting news. I can't wait to see what they will find. Thank you.

[cursor]

Fascinating, Larry. Thanks for sharing. I'm interested in digging deeper.

[cursor]

After reading the transcript, I listened to the audio version, and found them both interesting—with a little flavor/personality added to the audio. I shared the link with my dad, who's always cautiously skeptical (I love the LIDAR technology, by the way). His [not so] simple response back to me (via email) was, "The 'Oh, Wow' interview reminds me of newspaper articles in the 1940-50s about 'lost cities.' I guess we will see, or else we won’t."

[cinepro]

You mean it hasn't all been found, explored and analyzed yet? I thought that it was all done and over with.

No, the exploration will continue as long as it needs to.

[cursor]

Here is an article about the project on the University of Houston website. [ link ]

[poulsenll]

Here is an article about the project on the University of Houston website. [ link ]

Thanks for the link.

Has some pictures but too smll to see any of the described detail.

I want more pictures.

Larry P

[cursor]

Try these:

Image 1

View of Honduras rainforest. Laser mapping scientists flew over a remote part of the forest and discovered what appear to be ruins. The next step is to visit the ruins in person to determine their age. (University of Houston / NSF's National Center for Airborne Laser Mapping)

[ link ]

Image 2:

Data on topology from the LiDAR flyover in Honduras. (University of Houston / NSF's National Center for Airborne Laser Mapping)

[ link ]

[poulsenll]

Try these:

Image 1

View of Honduras rainforest. Laser mapping scientists flew over a remote part of the forest and discovered what appear to be ruins. The next step is to visit the ruins in person to determine their age. (University of Houston / NSF's National Center for Airborne Laser Mapping)

[ link ]

Image 2:

Data on topology from the LiDAR flyover in Honduras. (University of Houston / NSF's National Center for Airborne Laser Mapping)

[ link ]

Better

Thanks

Larry P

[cursor]

I just paid for a one month online subscription to the New Yorker (NewYorker.com) so that I could read Douglas Preston's article on the Honduras project. (May 6, 2013 edition, pages 34-40).

[Ahab]

Try these:

Image 1

View of Honduras rainforest. Laser mapping scientists flew over a remote part of the forest and discovered what appear to be ruins. The next step is to visit the ruins in person to determine their age. (University of Houston / NSF's National Center for Airborne Laser Mapping)

[ link ]

Image 2:

Data on topology from the LiDAR flyover in Honduras. (University of Houston / NSF's National Center for Airborne Laser Mapping)

[ link ]

Um, okay, but I'm still trying to see something that looks like a building or something to me. What is it that looks like a ruin?

[cursor]

Ancient architectural sites are literally buried under centuries of shifting earth and foliage overgrowth—hence the need for "excavation." When looking at the topographical Image 2, note the extremely rectilinear pattern of mounds. A number of Honduran archaeologists and anthropologists agree (upon viewing three dimensional representations of the LiDAR data) that the mounds likely resulted from human interaction. As an alternative visual of a [now] known [but formerly "lost"] ancient Mesoamerican site, consider this CNN broadcast regarding El Mirador.

Note that it's projected that there are thousands of pyramids and other structures that are part of the huge site ("larger than all of downtown Los Angeles") ... all under a jungle canopy (much like you see in Image 1). Edited May 10, 2013 by cursor

[cursor]

Here, for example is a view of a structure in Tikal that shows a pyramid (south acropolis) partially unearthed/excavated. Clearly all the heavy foliage has already been removed, even from the unearthed portions. What might it have looked like (to the naked eye—from the ground or from the air .... or with LiDAR scan technology) prior to any tree clearing?

[Calm]

Here, for example is a view of a structure in Tikal that shows a pyramid (south acropolis) partially unearthed/excavated. Clearly all the heavy foliage has already been removed, even from the unearthed portions. What might it have looked like (to the naked eye—from the ground or from the air .... or with LiDAR scan technology) prior to any tree clearing?

link?

[cursor]

Oops ...

http://images.travel...ikal-flores.jpg

[cursor]

Here is an informative reference to the project. [ link ]

[cursor]

A 1977 peek at one lost city expedition.

[cursor]

Here is a great four part video series about a more current search for La Ciudád Blanca.

10:06 minutes

17:02

10:15

07:12

Para aquellos que prefieren ver una versión en español ...

Al menos, las ciudades, los ríos, y otros nombres de lugares (y personas) se pronuncian correctamente.

[cursor]

This two part video is a very recent presentation that was done by Steven Elkins (cinematographer) and Juan Carlos Fernández Díaz (University of Houston, Cullen College of Engineering, Senior Researcher/ LASER Operator, Flight Manager, Electronics Engineer—native Honduran) to Honduran government officials. While the presentation is in Spanish, Steven Elkins' portion is in English. A number of graphic illustrations are quite interesting.

[cursor]

Regarding the presentation referenced in the previous post, the New Yorker article (May 6, 2013) referred to in the NPR interview (2nd paragraph) indicates that it took place May 15, 2012. Here is small excerpt from that article:

On May 15th, Elkins and Fernández, who is Honduran, were summoned to the Presidential palace, in Tegucigalpa, to present the discovery at a cabinet meeting, which was televised live to the nation. A press conference followed on the palace steps; later in the day, a press release, issued jointly by Elkin's team and the Honduran government, announced the discovery of "what appears to be the evidence of achaeological ruins in an area long rumored to contain the legendary lost city of Ciudad Blanca." The careful qualification in the statement was lost on the popular press, which announced that Ciudad Blanca had been found.

The news was not greeted warmy by some archaeologists. In two postings on the Berkeley Blog, Rosemary Joyce, and expert on Honduran archaeology at U.C. Berkeley, denounced the project as "hype" and "bad archaeology." She criticized the team for not having an archaeologist on board. "This is at least the fifth time someone's announced they found the White City," Joyce told me a few days after the press conference. "There is no White City. The White City is a myth. I'm quite biased against this group of people because they are adventurers and not archaeologists. they're after spectacle. Culture is not something you can see from a lider plane or from thousands of feet up. There's this thing we call 'ground-truthing.'"

I asked Joyce if she would look at an image. At first, she said no, then reluctantly agreed." I may not call you back," she said. I emailed her a lidar image of one small area of T1. She called back minutes later. Yes, she said, this was an archaeological site. She could see "three major clusters of larger structures," as well as "a plaza, and a public space par excellence, and a possible ball court, and many house mounds." She guessed that the site dated from the late- or post-classic period, between 500 and 1000 A.D.; Elkins's team has not yet attempted to date the site.

Edited May 15, 2013 by cursor

[cursor]

Here is a coordinated set of views of one of the identified archaeological sites that I've graphically created. The first image is a 3D perspective view of [a portion of] the LiDAR data. The other three are plan views (looking straight down) at the target terrain.

Edited May 15, 2013 by cursor

[Calm]

Here is a coordinated set of views of one of the identified archaeological sites that I've graphically created. The first image is a 3D perspective view of [a portion of] the LiDAR data. The other three are plan views (looking straight down) at the target terrain.

Now I can see it!!!!!!