WASHINGTON, D.C. Archaeologists have uncovered a 4,000-year-old network of canals in Belize, revealing how predecessors of the ancient Maya altered the landscape to sustain their communities. This discovery sheds light on early engineering practices in Central America long before the iconic Maya temples and pyramids were built.
Using drones and Google Earth imagery, researchers identified the intricate canal system within the wetlands of the Yucatan Peninsula. “The aerial imagery was crucial to identify this distinctive pattern of zigzag linear canals,” explained Eleanor Harrison-Buck of the University of New Hampshire, co-author of the study published in Science Advances.
Excavations conducted at Belize’s Crooked Tree Wildlife Sanctuary confirmed that these canals and holding ponds were used to catch freshwater fish like catfish. Archaeologists also found “barbed spearpoints” nearby, which may have been attached to sticks for spearing fish, said Marieka Brouwer Burg of the University of Vermont.
The canals date back 4,000 years, built by semi-nomadic people of the Yucatan coastal plain. These systems were likely in use for more than a millennium, including during the formative period of Maya culture, when permanent farming villages and distinctive traditions began to emerge.
“It’s really interesting to see such large-scale modifications of the landscape so early — it shows people were already building things,” noted Claire Ebert, an archaeologist at the University of Pittsburgh who was not involved in the research.
The Maya are renowned for their towering pyramids, temples, and advanced systems of writing, mathematics, and astronomy. However, this discovery connects earlier populations to the later flourishing of the Maya civilization. “This shows continuity,” said University of Pennsylvania archaeologist Jeremy Sabloff.
These ancient fish canals likely helped early populations diversify their diets and support growing communities, laying the groundwork for the cultural achievements that followed. The canals demonstrate not just ingenuity but the enduring relationship between human innovation and the natural environment.
Gary P Hernal started college at UP Diliman and received his BA in Economics from San Sebastian College, Manila, and Masters in Information Systems Management from Keller Graduate School of Management of DeVry University in Oak Brook, IL. He has 25 years of copy editing and management experience at Thomson West, a subsidiary of Thomson Reuters.
