Construction workers have stumbled across the ruins of a large pyramid along the side of a highway in Mexico. After being alerted to the discovery, archaeologists collected dozens of other artifacts from the site that will be closely studied in the lab over the next few months.
The structure was unearthed in June 2024 during the construction of a third lane on a federal highway in Hidalgo, east-central Mexico.
Archaeologists at Mexico’s National Institute of Anthropology and History (INAH) headed to the scene to carry out an investigation. After surveying the area with an aerial drone, their team collected 155 samples, including pieces of ceramics, stone tools, and animal shells.
To safeguard the relic, the archaeological authorities approved the construction of a large wall around the pyramid, measuring 43 meters (141 feet) in length and 11.7 meters (38 feet) in height.
The structure is part of a pre-Hispanic settlement known as San Miguel, which is dated between the Epiclassic period (650-950 CE) and the Late Postclassic period (1350-1519 CE). This was a period when the area was under the control of the “Metzca lordship”, which the INAH says left a “multi-ethnic imprint” until at least the 16th century CE.
However, the history of human activity goes back much further in the surrounding region, with the earliest settlements dating back at least 14,000 years.
It’s still unclear how many pre-Hispanic structures are lying hidden in Mexico, as well as Central America and South America, but recent years have revealed a wealth of new discoveries.
Many of these can be attributed to LiDAR, which stands for Light Detection and Ranging, a remote sensing technology that uses laser light to reveal a world hidden from the naked eye. It uses reflected light to generate information about the shape and characteristics of objects that might otherwise be hidden by vegetation, the ground, or other structures. It’s proved to be especially fruitful in tropical regions where long-lost archaeological features have become swamped by vegetation.
Just last year, the INAH used LiDAR to reveal traces of an 18-kilometer (11-mile) long highway that connected Maya cities over 1,200 years ago. Further south in present-day Guatemala, the imaging technique has also revealed evidence of a previously unknown Maya civilization made up of 964 interconnected settlements linked together with 177 kilometers (110 miles) of ancient roads.
These discoveries are a solid reminder that the pre-Columbian world was vibrant and incredibly complex long before its untimely demise in the modern era with the arrival of European colonizers.