With help from supporters, Pacunam has spent more than $600,000 on this first phase of the lidar project, said Marianne Hernandez, the president of the board. The organization hopes to use the laser technology to map the entire Maya Biosphere Reserve. But in light of the new lidar data, she said it could now be closer to 10 million. Dr. Davies was not involved in the lidar project but considered it “really big, sensational news.” She said the data should encourage people not only to re-evaluate Maya civilization, but also to learn from it. He added that in addition to changing people’s perception of the Maya culture, lidar represented “a sea change” in the field of archaeology.

Source: International New York Times February 03, 2018 13:42 UTC