In yesterday’s blog post I said that University of New Mexico anthropologists are using laser technology and remote sensing from aircraft to search in Belize for unexcavated Mayan ruins that they may choose to explore in the future.
In the Yucatan Travel Movie, we videotaped vegetation-covered mounds that appeared to be unexcavated Mayan ruins in the lovely colonial town of Izamal. We could see the mounds from the summit of Kinich Kak Moo, the tallest pyramid in the state of Yucatan, which is in the town of Izamal.
Copyright (c) 2010 Carol Chapman
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An article by Karen Wentworth says that Keith Prufer, assistant professor in the Department of Anthropology at the University of New Mexico will be taking students to study a relatively small but active Mayan ruin in the lowlands of Belize. This ruin, called Uxbenka, like Tulum in the Yucatan Travel Movie, traded with other Mayan centers.
This year, thanks to a grant from the Alphawood Foundation, they will have electronic equipment to analyze the com position of artifacts they find in the Mayan ruin. “It should tell us where materials like the obsidian we are finding came from, because it was traded a long way. Some came from Mexico, some from Guatemala,” Prufer said. “We can work out trade routes and sources of materials with it.”
Professor Uses High Tech to Uncover Mayan Ruins
Gone are the days when anthropologists relied on the knowledge of modern-day Maya and chicklet harvesters to direct them to unexcavated Mayan ruins. Today, they can also use airplanes equipped with LIDAR or laser technology that allows them to comb the Yucatan jungle from above using remote sensing.
Copyright (c) 2010 Carol Chapman
All Rights Reserved
As a way of enjoying Yucatan travel, you may want to teach English in Yucatan, for example, in the Mayan city of Tulum.
The Mayan city of Tulum has come second in the TripAdvisor Travelers’ Choice 2010 awards, which were decided on holidaymakers’ destination comments, favourite places and overall popularity.
“A rare mix of beach, archaeology and village, Tulum is a romantic getaway like no other,” the judges concluded.
Teach English in Mexico and enjoy Tulum’s beautiful beaches
We included Tulum in the Yucatan Travel Movie and can attest to the beautiful white-sand beaches in the area. In fact, many people visit the Mayan ruins at Tulum to swim rather than to tour the ruins.
However, you should be aware that if you want to stay overnight in one of the rustic cabins on the Maya Riviera coast south of the town of Tulum, most of the places, including campgrounds, do not have a regular source of electricity and instead depend on generators, wind power, solar power, and, as Miriam Balsley, the narrator of the Yucatan Travel Movie says, “the dancing light of candles.”
Copyright (c) 2010 Carol Chapman
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Such a fun article by Carolina Muscle, or “Yer Ole Uncle Nuts” about his Yucatan travel adventures. I can attest to problems with all the speed bumps from my experiences in Yucatan while filming the Yucatan Travel Movie.
The drive was long – about 5 hours from Cancun, or 3 hours from Costa Maya,
but the roads were great—
— if you disregard the hundred-some speed bumps on the highway – –
In the United States, we use radar to control speed-
…. in the southern Mexican state of Quintana Roo, they use speed bumps.
The speed limit on the Federal Highway was 100 KMH–
–but you had to slow down to about 5 when you got to the bumps.
And they weren’t the small ones either-
— these would tear the tranny right outta yer Jeep if you hit em too hard.
fun with yer ole Uncle Nuts in the Yucatan76
By carolina muscle
He also writes about visiting one of the Mayan ruins, including a description of his tourist guide, who is a retired Mexican teacher and very proud of his Mayan roots. Take a look at the article for a bunch of great photographs.
Copyright (c) 2010 Carol Chapman
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I felt happy as I put together the scenes for the Coba section of the Yucatan Travel Video. Today, I finally finished the bird-dances-to-music. When I showed it to John, he laughed out loud and had to see it again. That made me feel so good. Many birdwatchers come to Coba because the tropical songbirds around the lakes are phenomenal. There are also crocodiles. And, of course, the ancient ruins, which are always so fascinating. The first time we visited Coba, in 1999, hardly anyone was there. The parking lot had not been paved. No tourist buses parked there. The road to the site contained potholes from one end to the other. Now, everything is paved, spiffed up, touristy and very pleasant.
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