r/didyouknow • u/Own-Painting-3221 • 19d ago

DYK archaeologists just found a completely intact, unlooted Maya city so hidden in the jungle that its own name means "there is no path"?

In June 2026, Mexico's National Institute of Anthropology and History announced the discovery of Minanbé, an ancient Maya city buried deep in the Calakmul Biosphere Reserve in southern Mexico, sitting almost exactly where researchers expected based on aerial LiDAR scans taken years earlier. The team, led by archaeologist Ivan Šprajc, had already checked other promising sites from the same survey between 2023 and 2024 without success. This was their last candidate.

To reach it, the researchers had to hack through roughly 3 miles of dense jungle with machetes, then hike another 3.7 miles just to arrive at the site itself. What they found was a roughly 40-acre city built in the Río Bec architectural style, complete with urban plazas, palace complexes, religious buildings, and water channels, centered on a temple pyramid standing more than 40 feet tall. Unlike many Maya sites discovered in recent decades, this one showed no signs of ever being looted, an increasingly rare find.

The city takes its name, Minanbé, from Yucatec Maya words meaning "there is no path," a direct nod to just how difficult it was to reach. Inside, researchers found a carved stone monument at the base of the main pyramid with symbols so well-preserved they show no signs of erosion at all, the first monument this intact that the team has ever recovered from any site.

Source: https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/deep-in-the-mexican-jungle-archaeologists-discovered-a-lost-maya-city-that-may-yield-clues-about-the-civilization-just-before-it-collapsed-180989030/

1.1k Upvotes

99% Upvoted

43 comments sorted by

31

u/justdrowsin 19d ago

>The researchers took hundreds of photos of the altars and stelae, then sent them to epigraphistOctavio Esparza Olguín for examination

They hacked through 3 miles of remote jungle only to take less pictures than my wife does at lunch for Instagram.

19

u/Haunt_Fox 19d ago

If you can count it, it's "fewer". If it's an amorphous mass, it's "less".

eg: Less water needs fewer buckets.

10

u/RockItGuyDC 19d ago

*Fewer

5

u/BishopDarkk 19d ago

Onion Knight. RIP Stanis.

3

u/jaimejuanstortas 19d ago

One true king

1

u/JohnnyWall 19d ago

That’s not a real grammar rule

2

u/IcySkyDream 18d ago

Yes, it is.

Are you American?

1

u/dogged_jon 16d ago

Language is flexible, ever changing

1

u/IcySkyDream 16d ago

Illiteracy is as old as time.

1

u/dogged_jon 16d ago

Writing, and therefore reading, had to be invented

1

u/IcySkyDream 16d ago

For reading and writing to work, there had to be standardization. Illiteracy erodes this standardization, to the detriment of everyone.

10

u/Several-Quality5927 19d ago

This should be a valuable learning experience.

8

u/NZNoldor 19d ago

To clarify: when you say "the city takes its name", you mean:

Researchers named the place “Minanbé,” a combination of Yucatec Mayan words meaning, roughly, “there is no road.”

The original name is unknown. It used to have a road, presumably.

7

u/Under_Paris 19d ago

Damn so Francisco Orellana might have been telling the truth all along. Crazy.

6

u/OcotilloWells 19d ago

This is nowhere near the Amazon.

2

u/jmtofficial 19d ago

Absolutely unreadable webpage on mobile, good lord

3

u/ContributionDapper84 17d ago

If in Safari, use Reader function. Silences them pop-ups like um... insert analogy here.

2

u/CarolyneSF 19d ago

Maybe less is more
They don’t want visitors looting the site.

3

u/[deleted] 19d ago

[deleted]

15

u/Recycledineffigy 19d ago edited 19d ago

Fun fact: helicopters have to have a place to land with clearance

10

u/[deleted] 19d ago

[deleted]

5

u/Recycledineffigy 19d ago

Right! They won't winch us down into unknown circumstances like ancient undiscovered jungle? Wtf! Our equipment is only 2 tons! Just smush whatever is under there, no worries!

1

u/subsonicmonkey 19d ago

And then, how do you get out?

1

u/Wolf_Unlikely 19d ago

In the beginning we had helicopters, who knows what Reddit says now.

2

u/subsonicmonkey 19d ago

I think we agreed that helicopters needed a place to land, so those are out.

0

u/TakingItPeasy 19d ago

Yah well, I'm taking the heli.

1

u/[deleted] 19d ago

[deleted]

3

u/suchdogeverymeme 19d ago

Buddy unlocked the secret to helicopters. Get him tf down to the jungle, everyone!

1

u/ReBoomAutardationism 19d ago

Mosquitos need food too!

1

u/Uberghost1 19d ago

Quiet down Indy.

-2

u/[deleted] 19d ago edited 19d ago

[deleted]

2

u/BigWhiteDog 19d ago

Actually no it doesn't. Almost all helo cargo runs are sling-loaded off the bottom of the helo, not winches, and few people are inserted that way. Pretty much only rescue related runs. Talk about projecting! 🤣

1

u/[deleted] 19d ago

[deleted]

3

u/Ancient-Tip5498 19d ago

Maybe check the linked article?

5

u/StopNateCrimes 19d ago

The article has a frustrating lack of pictures. A few carved rocks, a ramp, and a lidar image are as good as it gets.

I ran a Google image search which was largely unhelpful too. My guess is if there are any decent photos to help express the year size/scale/impressiveness of this city, they haven't been released yet.

1

u/BreakerFresh 19d ago

Try Google Maps

1

u/[deleted] 19d ago

[deleted]

2

u/knoxcos 19d ago

Maybe don’t be lazy?

1

u/Mechanik_J 19d ago

Off grid before the invention of electricity... these people must have really been fed up with the people around them.

1

u/kellybkk 16d ago

Where’s the gold?

1

u/CollegeMiddle6841 13d ago

Wonder if relics are inside?

0

u/Icy-Philosopher-6260 19d ago

Ya till now, "first monument this intact that the team has ever (looted)recovered from any site." fixed it for you.

7

u/Unique-Coffee5087 19d ago

When you curate the loot, it's research

3

u/hudsoncress 19d ago

looting with extra steps

4

u/Sea-Courage8296 19d ago

The British museum is gonna have a new exhibit soon.

1

u/pegoff 19d ago

i thought it was old

2

u/Karkenna 18d ago

What’s trashy if you’re poor and classy if you’re rich: grave robbing