An ancient mystery buried for centuries beneath the dense forests of southern Mexico has been unveiled: a sprawling 600-year-old fortified city called Guiengola. Built by the Zapotec people in the 1400s, the discovery challenges long-held beliefs that the site was merely a military outpost.
Using cutting-edge laser technology known as Light Detection and Ranging (LiDAR), archaeologists uncovered the complete layout of Guiengola by scanning the terrain from the air. Research led by archaeologist Pedro Guillermo Ramón Celis of McGill University revealed that Guiengola spanned 360 hectares (890 acres) and was enclosed by four kilometers of walls. The site includes temples, ball courts, elite residences, and defensive structures.
For centuries, a thick forest concealed Guiengola’s true scale, making it nearly impossible to study on foot, and traditional archaeological methods failed to capture its full extent. “Researching how the Mesoamerican city was organized on the eve of the Spanish conquest is only the first step,” said Ramón Celis.
LiDAR technology, which sends pulsed laser beams similar to sonar, transformed the way researchers study sites like Guiengola by providing precise topographic information beneath dense forest canopies. Despite the thick vegetation, Ramón Celis was able to generate a detailed three-dimensional map of Guiengola’s surface in just two hours using remote sensing equipment—a task that would have taken years of walking and searching.
The findings reveal that Guiengola was a fortified and expanding city. The city’s strategic mountain location provided natural defenses, and it was enclosed by four kilometers of walls that protected it from invaders.
Located in the state of Oaxaca approximately 17 miles from the Pacific Ocean, Guiengola is well preserved.
“You can walk through the jungle and still see the houses standing… the doors… the corridors… the fences that delineated the residential plots. It’s like a city frozen in time, before the deep cultural transformations brought by the arrival of the Spaniards occurred,” said Ramón Celis.
By analyzing the data from the LiDAR scans, Ramón Celis identified over 1,170 structures at Guiengola, which include temples, ball courts, and living quarters. The epicenter of Guiengola included the main administrative and religious buildings, ball courts, and elite residences. The city had a clearly organized urban layout, with social hierarchies evident in the zoning of neighborhoods.
Structures such as temples and ritual ball courts were reserved for the elite, while commoners lived in separate districts. The lower classes’ structures were organized around local squares and temples, indicating the social organization of Guiengola was similar to that of the Mexica altepetl, with neighborhoods led by local noble lineages.
McGill researcher @arqlgoGuillermo discovers Guiengola, a 15th-century Zapotec site in Oaxaca, Mexico, wasn’t just a fortress—it was a vast, fortified city. Remote sensing tools reveal its complexity, shedding light on its political & social structure.➡️ https://t.co/72O4eSpa2q pic.twitter.com/UNYkxiqO1O
— McGill University (@mcgillu) January 29, 2025
Guiengola’s inhabitants eventually relocated to Tehuantepec, a small Mexican town 20 kilometers away, where their descendants still live today. Researchers believe the move was motivated by the need for better access to fresh water and fertile land. By the late 1400s, the Zapotecs had secured control of Oaxaca’s Pacific Coast while resisting expansion by the powerful Aztec Empire.
One of the most significant battles occurred at Guiengola when Aztec emperor Ahuizotl led a seven-month siege. Despite the prolonged attack, the Zapotecs defended their territory, marking a major resistance effort before eventually leaving the city.
Compared to other Mesoamerican cities like Teotihuacán or Mexico-Tenochtitlan, Guiengola presents a model of fortified urbanism. Two residential areas in Guiengola were protected by high walls, some still standing at five meters, suggesting that defense was once a key issue.
For now, Guiengola remains hidden beneath the jungle, a silent sentinel of a civilization that once thrived against all odds.
The article was written with the assistance of a news analysis system.
This article was originally published at www.jpost.com
![Travis Kelce on his future: 'Hopefully [I'm] still playing football' in 3 years](https://i0.wp.com/americansalient.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/1738655055_Travis-Kelce-on-his-future-Hopefully-Im-still-playing-football.jpg?resize=95%2C95&ssl=1)
