What the media gets wrong about archaeological ‘discoveries’ in the Maya world
Image above displays an INAH restoration specialist at work at El Meco Archaeological site. Photo: Carlos Rosado van der Gracht / Yucatán Magazine
Over the past couple of weeks, hundreds of media outlets worldwide have reported on the discovery of the ancient Maya city nicknamed Valeriana in Mexico’s Campeche state.
Several headlines, even from legacy media outlets, described the discovery as the result of an “accident” by researcher Luke Auld-Thomas, PhD candidate in Archaeology.
Simply put, Auld-Thomas knew what he was looking for, so he applied a very specific methodology and found it. It’s not like his cat jumped on the keyboard accidentally entering the correct coordinates, and boom, history was made—though, of course, any discovery has some element of serendipity or luck.
The discovery is fascinating, but it is far from unique. Several media outlets have followed a pattern of sloppy science journalism.
To be clear, this is not to minimize the discovery. Valeriana has approximately 7,000 structures, including pyramids and a ballcourt. The issue here is poor science journalism.
Like several other recent archeological discoveries, this one was based on data from LiDAR (Light Detection and Ranging) technology collected in 2013 during a sweeping 75.8-square-mile survey.
So, to call Auld-Thomas’s discovery “accidental” is misleading. To this point, the academic paper published in Antiquity goes to lengths to describe how the region is full to the brim with the remains of Pre-hispanic settlements.
While the “discovery” is new to the scientific community, the LiDAR imagery shows modern structures near the site’s core—not to mention a nearby major highway. Modern builders may have had no notion of the full scope of the ruins, but to say the site was entirely unknown by anyone is a stretch.
Then there is the media coverage. Because the only images of Valeriana available at the moment are from LiDAR, news agencies have resorted to accompanying their articles with photographs of excavated pyramids like those at Calakmul, Becán, and Dzibanché without properly labeling them, or worse yet, through AI. This creates the impression among readers unfamiliar with Maya archaeology that the photographs are of Valeriana—which is misleading.
Some of the most laughable conclusions drawn from the research paper published by Luke Auld-Thomas and his colleagues are that this discovery proves that the Maya were capable of thriving in the dense jungle, which, to these outlets, had not yet been satisfactorily proven by the extremely well-documented existence of hundreds of sites in the region.
For crying out loud, the published paper’s title announcing the discovery to the world is: “Running out of empty space: environmental LiDAR and the crowded ancient landscape of Campeche, Mexico.”
Maya archaeology is fascinating, and sensationalizing findings are redundant and counterproductive. Take the example of Ocomtún, discovered in 2023 to the north of Balamkú. Given their proximity, it is tremendously difficult without extensive on-the-ground research to claim one way or another if this is an extension of the Balamkú itself or truly a distinct urban/political entity.
Consider the archaeological sites of Dzibanché, Kinichná, and the soon-to-open site of Ichkabal. Though each has been given distinct names and has its own ticketing booths, its architectural cores are literally a handful of miles from each other, with monumental structures between all three. In what sense does it make sense to refer to them as singular archeological sites, at least scientifically?
Even worse are outlets that argue that the discovery of Valeriana proves once and for all that the ancient Maya were able to thrive in jungles “previously thought to be inhospitable to civilization” — as if the literally hundreds of documented sites in the region had not established this fact beyond any shadow of a doubt.
Then there is the over-the-top sensationalization with which media outlets, online, print, and cable TV/streaming are enamored. Silly and racist “aliens did it” conspiracy theories aside, the reasoning behind ignoring science and trying to make a “mystery” out of everything is baffling. The Maya and other Mesoamerican cultures are fascinating enough. No hyperbole is needed.
As someone who has been “in the business” of archaeological science communication for years, I understand how frustrating it can be to chase clicks. However, there are limits, and one should expect better from the media, especially large outlets.
To Auld-Thomas and his team, congratulations! To my fellow science communicators, come on, we can do better.
Senior Editor Carlos Rosado van der Gracht is a Mexican expedition/Canadian photographer and adventure leader. Born in Mérida, Carlos holds multimedia, philosophy, and translation degrees from universities in Mexico, Canada and Norway.
