Researchers Make Groundbreaking Discovery About Mayan PopulationDeclan Gallagher
Men's JournalSun, August 17, 2025 at 2:16 PM EDT
2 min read
New research led by Tulane University and
published in the Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports has uncovered surprising information about the Mayan population.
Using LiDAR (Light Detection and Ranging) technology, researchers have completed one of the most comprehensive regional-scale analyses of the Maya settlement of all time. They determined that the Mayan population numbered 16 million people throughout what is now Guatemala, southern Mexico, and western Belize. The findings drastically recontextualize previous models and population estimates of the Maya settlement.
"We now have hard evidence that Maya society was highly structured across both cities and rural areas and far more advanced in resource and social organization than previously understood,” said lead author Francisco Estrada-Belli, adding that “the ancient Maya never fail to amaze me.”
Estrada-Belli continued: "We expected a modest increase in population estimates from our 2018 lidar analysis, but seeing a 45 percent jump was truly surprising. This new data confirms just how densely populated and socially organized the Maya Lowlands were at their peak.”
By utilizing reprocessed LiDAR data, researchers estimate that between 9.5 million and 16 million people lived in the region in a 95,000-square-kilometer radius through the Late Classic period (600–900 A.D.). This new evidence is in sharp contrast to the previously held belief that the Maya culture was incorporated in isolated city-states rather than the intricately interconnected civilization it was, with structured systems of governance, agriculture, and commerce.
“We’re confident these lidar-based findings give us the clearest picture yet of ancient Maya settlement patterns," Estrada-Belli said. "We now have hard evidence that Maya society was highly structured across both cities and rural areas and far more advanced in resource and social organization than previously understood."
Researchers Make Groundbreaking Discovery About Mayan Population first appeared on Men's Journal on Aug 14, 2025
