An ancient network of roads that stretched over 150 miles has been discovered in the jungle of Guatemala . . . .
Used by the Maya for travel and transporting goods, the causeways were identified in the Mirador Basin . . . .
Also known as the Kan Kingdom, El Mirador is considered the cradle of Mayan civilization. Prior to its abandonment in 150 A.D., it was the largest city-state in the world both in size — 833 square miles — and population. . . .
. . . [L]aser-based remote sensing has been used to map the area, providing new insights into the massive system of superhighways.
. . . LiDAR, is capable of penetrating the thick jungle vegetation at a rate of 560,000 dots per second, producing detailed images that mimic a 3-D view of the scanned areas.
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"These causeways are 130 feet wide, up to 20 feet high and in some cases they extend as far as 25 miles," Hansen said.
The first building of the causeway . . . dates to 600 and 400 B.C., while other causeways date from 300 BC to 100 A.D.
"The creation of these causeways allowed unification of what appears to be the first state-level society in the Western Hemisphere," Hansen added.
