Ancient Central Americans built a massive fish-trapping system

The fish-trapping network fed the growth of early Maya centers

A massive pond and earthen channels used by Maya people to catch fish

Remote sensing techniques enabled researchers to identify a massive fish-trapping network, including a pond (shown here) and earthen channels, constructed in Central America around 4,000 years ago.

Starting around 4,000 years ago, an elaborate fish-trapping system nourished expanding human populations in lowland Central America, a new study finds. The discovery of this massive construction project indicates that aquatic foods at least partly supported the rise of Maya civilization roughly a millennium later.

Read this story for free

Enter your email address for continued access to Science News

By continuing, you acknowledge that you are at least 13 years of age and agree to the Terms of Service and Privacy Policy.  Under 13?  Check out Science News Explores.

 

OR
Use up and down arrow keys to explore.Use right arrow key to move into the list.Use left arrow key to move back to the parent list.Use tab key to enter the current list item.Use escape to exit the menu.Use the Shift key with the Tab key to tab back to the search input.