WOWZERS - Canadian Teen Discovers Lost Maya City Using Ancient Star Maps

[cc]

Teen Discovers Lost Maya City Using Ancient Star Maps



cc - I don't usually post / quote so much text, but this one needs it and deserves it



http://i.kinja-img.com/gawker-media/image/upload/s--1peVOzMd--/bvp1jepplt8h8gltwpmd.jpg">



Using an unprecedented technique of matching stars to the locations of temples on Earth, a 15-year-old Canadian student says he's discovered a forgotten Maya city in Mexico. Images from space suggest he may actually be onto something—but experts say it's something much simpler.



William Gadoury, a teen from Saint-Jean-de-Matha in Lanaudière, developed an interest in archaeology after the publication of the Maya calendar announcing the end of the world in 2012. After spending hours pouring over diagrams of constellations and maps of known Maya cities, he noticed that the two appeared to be linked; the brightest stars of the constellations overlaid perfectly with the locations of the largest Maya cities. As reported in The Telegraph, no other scientist had ever discovered such a correlation.



Here's how he discovered the lost city: After studying 22 different constellations, Gadoury noticed that they neatly corresponded to the locations of 117 Mayan cities located in Mexico, Guatemala, Honduras, and El Salvador. When looking at a 23rd constellation, he was able to match two stars to known cities—but a third star remained unmatched. Using transparent overlays, Gadoury pinpointed a location deep in the thick jungles of the Yucatan Peninsula in Mexico.



"I did not understand why the Maya built their cities away from rivers, on marginal lands, and in the mountains," explained Gadoury in Le Journal de Montreal. "They must have had another reason, and as they worshiped the stars, the idea came to me to verify my hypothesis. I was really surprised and excited when I realized that the most brilliant stars of the constellations matched the largest Maya cities."



http://i.kinja-img.com/gawker-media/image/upload/s--BxzY-hdU--/c_scale,fl_progressive,q_80,w_800/nru58bbvrvcand7qyelx.jpg">



Taking this idea further, Gadoury contacted the Canadian Space Agency, who provided him with space-based images from NASA and JAXA. These satellite images revealed a batch of undeniably geometric structures hidden under the jungle canopy. Gadoury, along with Dr. Armand LaRocque, a remote sensing specialist from the University of New Brunswick in Fredericton, believe it's an ancient Maya pyramid surrounded by 30 smaller structures. The teen has named the city—which has yet to be explored and verified—K'aak Chi, which means "Mouth of Fire." If confirmed, it would be among the largest Maya cities ever discovered.



http://gizmodo.com/teen-discovers-lost-maya-city-using-ancient-star-maps-1775735999?utm_campaign=socialflow_gizmodo_twitter&utm_source=gizmodo_twitter&utm_medium=socialflow">More from Gizmodo



 http://www.bbc.com/news/blogs-trending-36259047">More on BBC

[cc]

1000s of historians missed it for centuries. This kid questions why they usually built away from rivers and friendly surroundings ..... factored in their worship of the stars ...



and nailed it

[Anonymous]

Teen Discovers Lost Maya City Using Ancient Star Maps



cc - I don't usually post / quote so much text, but this one needs it and deserves it



http://i.kinja-img.com/gawker-media/image/upload/s--1peVOzMd--/bvp1jepplt8h8gltwpmd.jpg">



Using an unprecedented technique of matching stars to the locations of temples on Earth, a 15-year-old Canadian student says he's discovered a forgotten Maya city in Mexico. Images from space suggest he may actually be onto something—but experts say it's something much simpler.



William Gadoury, a teen from Saint-Jean-de-Matha in Lanaudière, developed an interest in archaeology after the publication of the Maya calendar announcing the end of the world in 2012. After spending hours pouring over diagrams of constellations and maps of known Maya cities, he noticed that the two appeared to be linked; the brightest stars of the constellations overlaid perfectly with the locations of the largest Maya cities. As reported in The Telegraph, no other scientist had ever discovered such a correlation.



Here's how he discovered the lost city: After studying 22 different constellations, Gadoury noticed that they neatly corresponded to the locations of 117 Mayan cities located in Mexico, Guatemala, Honduras, and El Salvador. When looking at a 23rd constellation, he was able to match two stars to known cities—but a third star remained unmatched. Using transparent overlays, Gadoury pinpointed a location deep in the thick jungles of the Yucatan Peninsula in Mexico.



"I did not understand why the Maya built their cities away from rivers, on marginal lands, and in the mountains," explained Gadoury in Le Journal de Montreal. "They must have had another reason, and as they worshiped the stars, the idea came to me to verify my hypothesis. I was really surprised and excited when I realized that the most brilliant stars of the constellations matched the largest Maya cities."



http://i.kinja-img.com/gawker-media/image/upload/s--BxzY-hdU--/c_scale,fl_progressive,q_80,w_800/nru58bbvrvcand7qyelx.jpg">



Taking this idea further, Gadoury contacted the Canadian Space Agency, who provided him with space-based images from NASA and JAXA. These satellite images revealed a batch of undeniably geometric structures hidden under the jungle canopy. Gadoury, along with Dr. Armand LaRocque, a remote sensing specialist from the University of New Brunswick in Fredericton, believe it's an ancient Maya pyramid surrounded by 30 smaller structures. The teen has named the city—which has yet to be explored and verified—K'aak Chi, which means "Mouth of Fire." If confirmed, it would be among the largest Maya cities ever discovered.



http://gizmodo.com/teen-discovers-lost-maya-city-using-ancient-star-maps-1775735999?utm_campaign=socialflow_gizmodo_twitter&utm_source=gizmodo_twitter&utm_medium=socialflow">More from Gizmodo



 http://www.bbc.com/news/blogs-trending-36259047">More on BBC

Wowzers is right.

[Renee]

1000s of historians missed it for centuries. This kid questions why they usually built away from rivers and friendly surroundings ..... factored in their worship of the stars ...



and nailed it

Let's not get carried away on this just yet.....



https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/spe ... ot-exactly">https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/speaking-of-science/wp/2016/05/11/did-a-teen-discover-a-lost-mayan-city-not-exactly[/url]

[cc]

Hmmm .. . and it had CNN & CBC doing a full monty as recent as last evening



Looks like I got out front a bit early in the game ... 1/2 cock'd if I can put it that way

[Anonymous]

Oh, that's too bad..



It's a good story.

[Anonymous]

Maybe it is a pot field that was discovered.



A Canadian teen's claimed discovery of a lost, ancient Mayan city in the middle of a Mexican jungle could actually be nothing more than a pot field, say scientists.



William Gadoury, 15, of Montreal, shot to fame this week with reports he had stumbled on what he believed to be a lost city. His theory was that the Mayans might have built their cities so they lined up with major constellations.



But the work - despite having the helping hand of the Canadian Space Agency - has not yet been peer-reviewed, and scientists who have taken a look so far have not been sold.



Although nobody has visited the remote site since the teen's find, a satellite image making the rounds online, which claims to show a possible pyramid base, is likely nothing more than a fallow corn field, say many scientists.



One such expert, Geoffrey Braswell, from the University of San Diego, believes Gadoury may have found a marijuana field. He should know: he's visited the area in the past.



"The fields may be fallow or may be active marijuana fields, which are common in the area. There is no important archaeological site there," he wrote to the Washington Post in an e-mail.



But he encouraged Gadoury to keep trying, and he hopes to see the young man apply to USC-San Diego.



http://www.torontosun.com/2016/05/12/lost-mayan-city-no-likely-just-a-pot-field">http://www.torontosun.com/2016/05/12/lo ... -pot-field">http://www.torontosun.com/2016/05/12/lost-mayan-city-no-likely-just-a-pot-field

[Anonymous]

Figures a Canadian would find pot.

[Anonymous]

Figures a Canadian would find pot.

Isn't that the truth. And welcome Velvet.

[Anonymous]

I wanted the op to be true.

[easter bunny]

"The idea of a map as we know it, as a scaled representation of geographic reality, is a modern Western concept," says Aveni, who adds that the cosmos is "certainly involved" in patterning how we build things on earth, but not to the degree of precision claimed by Gadoury.



http://news.nationalgeographic.com/2016/05/20160511-Maya-Lost-City-Canadian-Teen-Discover-Constellations-Archaeology-Satellite-Stars-Gadoury/">http://news.nationalgeographic.com/2016 ... s-Gadoury/">http://news.nationalgeographic.com/2016/05/20160511-Maya-Lost-City-Canadian-Teen-Discover-Constellations-Archaeology-Satellite-Stars-Gadoury/

So, modern Westerners invented the concept of maps? Excuse me, but that ranks as one of the top ten stupidest things I've ever heard a scientist say.  

[Renee]

"The idea of a map as we know it, as a scaled representation of geographic reality, is a modern Western concept," says Aveni, who adds that the cosmos is "certainly involved" in patterning how we build things on earth, but not to the degree of precision claimed by Gadoury.



http://news.nationalgeographic.com/2016/05/20160511-Maya-Lost-City-Canadian-Teen-Discover-Constellations-Archaeology-Satellite-Stars-Gadoury/">http://news.nationalgeographic.com/2016 ... s-Gadoury/">http://news.nationalgeographic.com/2016/05/20160511-Maya-Lost-City-Canadian-Teen-Discover-Constellations-Archaeology-Satellite-Stars-Gadoury/

So, modern Westerners invented the concept of maps? Excuse me, but that ranks as one of the top ten stupidest things I've ever heard a scientist say.  

No, that's not what the statement says. It doesn't say modern westerners invented the "concept" of maps. The true "concept" Is probably Babylonian or Egyptian.



The statement refers to a specific kind of map...

A map that we would recognize as a accurate scaled geographic representation.



That kind of map is a western concept. The first somewhat accurate maps were created by the Greeks sometime shortly after the time of Homer's Odyssey. The first truly accurate maps of scale geographic representation come from the Portuguese, Spanish and Flemish schools of cartography dating back to the so called Age of Exploration.



As for the concept of maps.....if you really want to get technical, the first maps were crude star charts painted on cave walls in France and Spain some 8,000 years ago.



Sorry, just showing off a thirst for useless information and a BS degree in European History that I almost never get to use.

[Twenty Dollars]

A BS in European History. Were you planning to be a teacher? WTF else would you use that type of degree for?

[Renee]

A BS in European History. Were you planning to be a teacher? WTF else would you use that type of degree for?

That was the plan.  But I discovered that I can't stand other people's kids.  



I also can't deal with the sense of entitlement, stupidity and the endless political propaganda that comes along with being a member of the teachers union.



To be honest I went to college to play ball. The degree was just a perk that came along with the privilege.

[Twenty Dollars]

A BS in European History. Were you planning to be a teacher? WTF else would you use that type of degree for?

That was the plan.  But I discovered that I can't stand other people's kids.  



I also can't deal with the sense of entitlement, stupidity and the endless political propaganda that comes along with being a member of the teachers union.



To be honest I went to college to play ball. The degree was just a perk that came along with the privilege.

Softball?