Lidar reveals a possible blueprint for many Olmec and Maya ceremonial sites
Similar ceremonial layouts connected ancient societies across Mexico’s Gulf Coast
![3-D image created using lidar data recreating a ceremonial Olmec center on Mexico's Gulf Coast, with sunrise aligned with entrance](https://i0.wp.com/www.sciencenews.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/102221_bb_olmec_feat.jpg?fit=1030%2C580&ssl=1)
A ceremonial complex built more than 3,000 years ago at an Olmec center on what’s now Mexico’s Gulf Coast influenced corresponding sites across the region for two millennia, remote-sensing data indicate. Remains of a ceremonial center at one of those sites, Buenavista, are shown in this 3-D image created using lidar data on the day that a sunrise aligns with the entrance.
T. Inomata