Lasers reveal sites used as the Americas’ oldest known star calendars
Star-aligned ritual centers along Mexico’s Gulf Coast date to as early as 3,100 years ago
![the Maya site Aguada Fénix as mapped by lasers, showing a rectangular ceremonial site oriented toward sunrise, surrounded by other structures and faint markings that may be roads](https://i0.wp.com/www.sciencenews.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/010623_BB_lidar-calendar_feat.jpg?fit=1030%2C580&ssl=1)
This laser-mapped, eastward-looking view of the Maya site Aguada Fénix includes a rectangular ceremonial center (top center) oriented toward sunrise at a particular time of year.
Takeshi Inomata