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Ancient Superhighways

In ancient times, the Maya people built a network of roads that would have allowed them to trade and communicate over long distances.

Several men lined up side by side in a wooded area.

Hansen, R., Moraels-Aguilar, C., Thompson, J., Ensley, R., Hernandez, E., Schreiner, T., . . . Martinez, G. (2022). LiDAR analyses in the contiguous Mirador-Calakmul Karst Basin, Guatemala. (CC BY 3.0)

This photo shows the location of one of the Maya roads. Researchers found that this road was about 40 meters (131 feet) wide.

Some ancient people were amazingly advanced. Scientists know this because they’ve studied civilizations like the Maya. More than 2,000 years ago, the Maya people of North and Central America built large cities with palaces and pyramids. They were successful farmers. They even studied the planets and came up with an accurate calendar. But a new discovery reveals that the Maya civilization was even more sophisticated than anyone realized. Scientists have learned that the Maya had a system of interconnecting roads. 

“[The roads are] the world’s first superhighway system,” Richard Hansen, a professor of anthropology at Idaho State University, told CNN.

An elevation map on part of Guatemala with causeways labeled

Hansen, R., Moraels-Aguilar, C., Thompson, J., Ensley, R., Hernandez, E., Schreiner, T., . . . Martinez, G. (2022). LiDAR analyses in the contiguous Mirador-Calakmul Karst Basin, Guatemala. Ancient Mesoamerica. Cambridge University Press, 2022. (CC BY 3.0)

The Maya causeways, or roads, stretched across vast distances. The darker colors on this map indicate areas of higher elevation.

Hansen led a recent study in which scientists used laser technology to look under the thick canopy of trees in the rainforest of Guatemala. The researchers discovered a 650-square-mile (1,700-square-kilometer) area containing the ruins of hundreds of Maya cities and towns. A system of stone roads—called sacbeob (“white roads”) in the Mayan language—connects these cities and towns. The roads are made of mud and stone and covered with a layer of white plaster that reflects moonlight, making the surface easier to see at night in a dark jungle.

An elevation map on part of Guatemala with causeways labeled

Hansen, R., Moraels-Aguilar, C., Thompson, J., Ensley, R., Hernandez, E., Schreiner, T., . . . Martinez, G. (2022). LiDAR analyses in the contiguous Mirador-Calakmul Karst Basin, Guatemala. Ancient Mesoamerica. Cambridge University Press, 2022. (CC BY 3.0)

Laser technology showed scientists where the Maya people built roads.

The size of the road network reveals a lot about the Maya civilization. In many ways, it was modern. Building the roads would have required complicated plans as well as cooperation between cities and towns. And the roads’ existence means there would have been a lot of travel and communication between towns.

Did You Know?

Sixteen panels showing hieroglyphics

© Dmitriy Moroz/Dreamstime.com

The Madrid Codex is one of the few surviving Maya codices.

The Maya people had a writing system, called hieroglyphics, and produced many books, called codices. Scientists often learn about people of the past by studying their writing. But when the Spanish conquered the Maya in the 1500s, they burned most of the codices.

Happy Pi Day!

An animation shows digits of pi being added one after the other.

Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.

The number pi has an infinite number of digits!

The Maya people developed an advanced system of mathematics. They even came up with the number zero, as well as a place value system.

Speaking of math, this is the time of year when we honor pi. Pi is a number that starts like this: 3.1415926535. Pi has an infinite number of digits. So far, pi has been calculated to more than 50 trillion digits to the right of that decimal point! But, understandably, most people shorten pi to 3.14. And, since you can write March 14 as “3/14,” that date is celebrated around the world as Pi Day.

If you’ve learned about pi in school, you may already be thinking of a circle. Pi is a somewhat magical ratio related to the measurements of a circle.Let’s say you have a pizza pie (that’s pie, not pi) shaped like a circle. If you measure across the widest part of the pizza, that’s the diameter. And if you measure all the way around the pizza, that’s the circumference.

© Zitramon/Dreamstime.com; Composite illustration Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.

Here’s where the magic comes in: If you divide the circumference by the diameter, you’ll get a number that’s very close to 3.14…no matter what size your pizza is. And this is true for any circle.

© Zitramon/Dreamstime.com; Composite illustration Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.

If all this talk about pie is making you hungry, there’s good news. Many people celebrate Pi Day by eating pie. Hey, why not?

Maya Marvels

© Lia Koltyrina/Shutterstock.com

Did you know that, even without telescopes and other instruments to observe the sky, the Maya people were able to predict solar eclipses? They tracked eclipses on a complex calendar, like the one shown here. There’s a lot more to know about the Maya.

Learn more at Britannica School!

WORD OF THE DAY

philomath

PART OF SPEECH:

noun

Definition:

: a lover of learning, especially a student of mathematics

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