A vast, ancient structure discovered in Mexico may reveal how early Mayan civilisations understood the world to work. In their new study, archaeologists say that new findings indicate the 3,000-year-old site, known as Aguada Fénix, was a cosmogram: a geometric map of the Universe.
After discovering one enormous cross-shaped pit (known as a cruciform) hidden under dense jungle overgrowth in 2020, archaeologists later realised it was only one of many nestled into each other and connected by canals. The total volume of these cruciforms is over 3.8 million cubic metres – that’s about one and a half Pyramids of Giza, or more than 1,500 Olympic pools’ worth.
Located in present-day Tabasco State on the Gulf Coast of Mexico, the researchers, from the University of Arizona, used laser technology to spot Aguada Fénix from the air.
Now, they say, coloured pigments – the earliest examples of these in Mesoamerica – found in the pits correspond with the four cardinal directions of north, south, east and west. Specifically, vivid blue azurite marks the north, yellow ochre the south, green malachite east, and pearly seashells the west.
“The cruciform shapes and colour symbolism encoded in the architecture are the physical embodiment of notions of how the earthly plane was organised, governed by the cardinal directions,” independent Maya specialist Dr James A Doyle told BBC Science Focus.
He added: “The dam and the canals underscore the importance of water both practically and symbolically, which is also reflected in the blue/green pigments, shells, and greenstone offerings.”
Crucially, the new research, detailed in journal Science Advances, thinks that the construction was undertaken by a non-hierarchical community. That's because there is no evidence of the residences, palaces or central ruling class associated with later Maya structures.
Given the size of the buildings (“some of the largest ever built in the region,” according to Doyle), they think it would have taken at least a thousand people carving out the bedrock for several years to construct the cosmogram.
These people, they think, weren’t coerced by an elite class, but were part of an egalitarian culture that wanted a space for a large number of people to participate in astronomical observations and sharing knowledge about the calendar. Such a large space was also likely used for trade, socialising and sacred ceremonies.
As well as the pigments, the archaeologists also found jade sculptures. Again reflecting natural experiences rather than deities or leaders, these were mostly carvings of animals – but there’s also one that seems to represent a woman during childbirth.
Doyle thinks there is still plenty to learn about social equality at Aguada Fénix, particularly when it comes to the mysterious woman in jade.
“What if she had been a powerful ruler, as we know from many later societies in Mesoamerica, the circum-Caribbean Area and the Central Andes?” he said.
“Surely with more excavation, expanded knowledge about the peoples who built Aguada Fénix, the picture of disparities in the accumulation of goods or influence will become clearer.”
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