Lost Mayan City Found

Archaeologists were scanning through jungle terrain when they stumbled on what could have been an important Maya location. They discovered a mysterious structure built under a ball court, which was popular in large Maya cities. Other discoveries included pyramids and evidence of drainage systems. Most of the findings have been calculated to have been used between 200 AD to 1000 AD.

The height of the Maya kingdom stretched from 250 to 900 AD. The rise of the Maya Ballgame, sometimes called pitz, saw the building of ball court structures in the center of major cities. These courts were a symbol of wealth and power, hence their prime placement.

Not only was one of these courts found in a Mexican jungle, but also uncovered was a cryptic construction under the court, leading to questions about the structure’s use.

Archaeologists were exploring light detection and ranging (lidar) readings in the Mexican state Campeche when they noticed unique shapes in a roughly 54-square-mile section of the Balam Ku Biosphere Reserve. The shapes were actually modest-sized settlements with a few larger buildings. There were practically no standing walls, and no key architectural decoration.

The impression was that the Maya culture of this region was less elaborate than those in other regions.

While excavating the ball court, the team discovered parts of a building covered with remnants of painted stucco located beneath. Because ball courts were typically built at the center of cities, speculation is that the building had some prominence as well. But speculation is all they have for now. It is estimated that the building dates somewhere between 200 and 600 AD.

Other major finds include a main plaza surrounded with elongated structures. The plaza features a pyramid and a drainage channel. The team believes the site was occupied from 600 to 1000 AD.

Another discovery is a 52-foot-tall pyramid near a water reservoir, complete with the remains of offerings atop the structure. The offering remnants included ceramic fragments, a flint point, and an animal leg, likely of an armadillo or large rodent. The scientists believe this find dates from 1250 to 1524 AD and that it shows the presence of humans in the area even after the height of the Maya civilization and before the arrival of the Spanish.

 

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/archaeologists-found-the-lost-remnants-of-a-maya-civilization-hiding-in-the-jungle/ar-BB1q5oE3?ocid=mailsignout&pc=U591&cvid=12b3e586097c4b7aaa0255d8b328da29&ei=46

What Existed Before The Big Bang

Our universe began with The Big Bang. But what existed before the Big Bang?

From the University of Texas at Austin, researchers propose that dark matter might have been created during a brief, explosive period of expansion called “Cosmic Inflation,” which occurred just before the Big Bang. The universe, at that point, would have consisted of mostly dark matter, completely undetectable to our eyes.

Scientists believe that dark matter makes up roughly 85% of all matter. This study suggests that the substance existed before the event that many consider the beginning of time.

The model for the study assumes that dark matter is successfully produced during inflation. In most models, anything that is created during inflation is thinned away by the expansion of the universe until there is essentially nothing left.

The research introduces a mechanism called WIFI (Warm Inflation Freeze-In), which suggests that dark matter could have been generated during the universe’s earliest moments through rare interactions within an incredibly hot and energetic environment.

Cosmologists understand the universe’s beginning was more complex than a simple explosive moment. Before the Big Bang, matter and energy were compressed into an incredibly dense state that physicists struggle to describe. A fraction of a second of rapid expansion preceded the Big Bang, setting the stage for everything that would follow.

In this new model, the quantum field driving inflation loses some energy to radiation, which then produces dark matter particles through a process called ‘freeze-in’. According to this research, all the dark matter that exists today could have been created during that brief inflationary period.

The study focused on the production of dark matter, but WIFI suggests the production of other particles that could play a role in the early universe’s evolution.

Although currently unconfirmable through direct observation, the theory opens exciting new avenues for exploring the universe’s fundamental building blocks. The researchers are optimistic that upcoming experiments studying the Cosmic Microwave Background and large sale universal structures could provide validation.

 

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/technology/scientists-may-finally-know-what-existed-before-the-big-bang/ar-AA1vY9Mf?ocid=hpmsn&cvid=51d4d625bcc24515f51422de711080a7&ei=66