Archaeologists discover 4,000-year-old canals used to fish by predecessors of ancient Maya
Long before the ancient Maya built temples, their predecessors were already altering the landscape of Central America's Yucatan peninsula.
Using drones and Google Earth imagery, archaeologists have discovered a 4,000-year-old network of earthen canals in what's now Belize. The findings were published Friday in Science Advances.
"The aerial imagery was crucial to identify this really distinctive pattern of zigzag linear canals" running for several miles through wetlands, said study co-author Eleanor Harrison-Buck of the University of New Hampshire.
The team then conducted digs in Belize's Crooked Tree Wildlife Sanctuary. The ancient fish canals, paired with holding ponds, were used to channel and catch freshwater species such as catfish.
"Barbed spearpoints" found nearby may have been tied to sticks and used to spear fish, said study co-author Marieka Brouwer Burg of the University of Vermont.
The canal networks were built as early as 4,000 years ago by semi-nomadic people in the Yucatan coastal plain. According to the study, the canals were used for around 1,000 years or longer, including during the "formative" period when the Maya began to settle in permanent farming villages and a distinctive culture started to emerge.
Altar Q that depicts 16 kings in the dynastic succession of the city is seen inside the archaeological site of Copan, in Copan Ruinas, Honduras, Saturday, July 3, 2021. Credit: AP Photo/Rodrigo Abd, File
This 2019 photo provided by the Belize River East Archaeology project, researchers excavate sediment that will be sequenced to help them date the evidence of a large-scale pre-Columbian fish-trapping facility in Belize. Credit: Belize River East Archaeology project via AP
Stela M and the Hieroglyphic Stairway are seen inside the archaeological site of Copan, in Copan Ruinas, Honduras, Saturday, July 3, 2021. Credit: AP Photo/Rodrigo Abd, File
This 2019 photo provided by the Belize River East Archaeology project shows investigations of wetland canal features in the CTWS by the research team in Belize. Credit: Belize River East Archaeology project via AP