El Mirador, Guatemala: The Ancient Lost City of the Maya | Ancient Architects

When you think of the Maya ruins of Guatemala, you often think of the Great Plaza of Tikal, a city that was thriving between 700 to 800 AD with pyramids and palaces aplenty. The ruins are iconic, being one of the largest archaeological sites of the pre-Columbian Maya civilisation, covering more than 6 square miles and boasting an incredible 3,000 structures.
Much like the Mexican site of Teotihuacan, compared to the relatively unknown Great Pyramid of Cholula, the ancient city of Tikal overshadows another superpower of the Maya, the lost city of El Mirador, which is today lost within the dense jungle of Guatemala.
El Mirador, thought to be the ancient capital city of the Maya, rose to prominence many centuries before Tikal and flourished between the sixth century BC and the first century AD. As well as being the home of tens of thousands of people, it also had several thousand stone structures, including the tallest structure ever built by the Maya - La Danta Pyramid.
Watch this video to learn more about the lost city of the Maya, as well as the thousands more structures that have recently turned up in LiDAR scans of Guatemala. History is being re-written.

[@AncientArchitects]

I’ve not done a video on the Egyptian pyramids for over a week. How is everyone coping? 😂 Thanks for watching! Please Like the video if you enjoyed it and please subscribe! If you want to support the Ancient Architects channel, I’m on Patreon at www.patreon.com/ancientarchitects - thank you!

[@rogermarshall8991]

Keep it going a little change is good . Different scenery for a change. 👍....

[@captainTubes]

This was a fantastic change of pace, really enjoyed it. Very well presented and leaves one quite piqued

[@borgholable]

cut your intro my man , it takes a minute to start and you can still have a 10 minute video without that long and drawn out intro

[@zumazmusic]

Anything about Chichen Itza coming our way?

[@crystalpoole1560]

Am I the only one that watched this video, then watched it AGAIN?? I just love this channel.

[@sg8652]

Es Maravilloso lo que nuestros antepasados hicieron, su arquitectura como eran sus costumbres, por eso nosotros los guatemaltecos nos sentimos orgullos de nuestra cultura Maya🇬🇹

[@greatskytrollantidrama4473]

The amount of Tera Negrita is absolutely amazing. I love this new leaning to new world mysteries.

[@AncientArchitects]

👍

[@chrismahfouz7709]

Thank for another informative and fascinating video. It’s so sad that so much is lost already before it’s ever been studied.

[@AncientArchitects]

Thanks for watching

[@glennjames2324]

HOLY SH!T !!!! I really think that most people are TOTALLY UNAWARE of the significance of these findings. LIDAR is revealing things in central and south America that I believe will surpass anything we have found in Egypt. What I would give to be younger, and in this field of archaeology right now. In times like these legends are made.

[@asianthor]

You and I share the same wish. To be 20 years old again and do archaeology work.

[@toddq6443]

It seems self evident that one of humankind's greatest talents is underestimating the abilities of their ancestors. Awesome work as always AA. TNQ

[@SquidProQuo80]

The latest studies claim that at least 1 million people lived in El Mirador alone! The region housed anywhere from 10 - 15 million inhabitants.

[@AncientArchitects]

Wow... ok. I’ll check this.

[@ian_b]

Hello everybody! I love this channel.

[@AncientArchitects]

Thanks

[@Hyper_Fox06]

An excellent presentation. It's very nice having someone such as yourself that keeps up with and reports on archaeological discoveries.

[@canthama2703]

LIDAR technology rocks, it revolutionizes archeology, like you Matt. Congrats for another great video.

[@bonkers2614]

That comparison of the LIDAR tech with the Hubble Telescope is very on-point. We are entering a new Golden Age of Archaeology, I believe.

[@brianmclellan1976]

I am so grateful for your videos and the work you do. If history was taught this way in school, I would have paid more attention. I and many others agree that we learn more from your channel than in many schools. Thank you for your tireless work. Looking forward to many more videos.

[@KalRandom]

Thanks Matt, excellent, wish they would lidar the whole area.

[@dueymoar7767]

Why won't they? I've followed this from day one and had figured that they would. Or perhaps they already have and they just don't want to release all of the data yet. So that they have time to send mercs in there to "save" all the of artifacts from future looters.

[@smooth_sundaes5172]

Great episode and thank you for posting. The tragedy of improving technology is the access to information for people with no interest in the actual history beyond its dollar value.

[@AncientArchitects]

Thanks for watching and your comment is very true.

[@dueymoar7767]

@@AncientArchitects It is fantastic that you communicate with the people in your videos comment section. Cheers to you for this. Whether it's agreements or disagreements, everything should be peacefully and logically debated.

[@andysell868]

Keep em coming, always excellent vids, full of great info👍

[@AncientArchitects]

Thank you

[@zumazmusic]

Great channel, loving the content 😎👍

[@TheWhore2culture]

Really enjoyed that "round up of information", thank you. I've been reading the papers/data as they come out,but,thanks to Instagram, I've been watching the excavations in real time over the last few years. The project was superbly managed and marketed on social media - am sure it also helped with funding . One got the feeling you were there,with multiple photos,videos and "video tours" of finds as they were discovered and uncovered. Plus the endless parade of flora & fauna that were being displaced by the workers. The Egyptian authorities and many other countries could take a leaf out the book,of how to not only engage public interst, but, show pretty much total transparency during the, still on going , excavations. Obvious to you,me and many others is the undiscused question of where are the other sites,where they learned their art. There is obviously much to be found UNDER the many sites you discuss above,but,who were the actual people and where did 5hey come from - I've not seen or read a DNA paper yet and look forward to seeing how they they fit into the emergent "jigsaw" that is putting the lie to the idea that South America was a backwater,covered since time immemorial; covered by pristine rain forest! Something HUGE had been taking place on this continent for,it would start to seem, an incredibly LONG time!? As always very best to you & yours & have a great week👋🌟✌

[@jigold22571]

ThankU for sharing and posting.

[@AncientArchitects]

Thank you for watching

[@timpage5021]

The causeways that connected all the cities were amazing.

[@stevenrichardson9880]

I tell you what mate this channel is an absolute pleasure for me, I love watching your videos, great info and passion. Keep up the great work :) I am going on a one year travel next year and a lot of the sites you feature are going to be visited by me.

[@hatuletoh]

El Miradór = "ehl meer-ah-DOHR". Outstanding video, as usual.

[@davidcoleman2463]

Yes .he got this wrong .

[@mobilepker9322]

@@davidcoleman2463 it's only called that cause its filled with trees. Before it was called a different name so this 2nd name is just irrelevant

[@ivaxnog6157]

@@mobilepker9322 i believe he is pointing out the right pronunciation in spanish. Greetings.

[@ivaxnog6157]

@@mobilepker9322 Mirador i believe means place from wich you can look down, after all it is located in a valley or something like that. Now the name of the country Guatemala does mean Place of many trees.

[@Buckdawg]

Great work as always Matt. The Maya civilisation gets more and more interesting each day. So much left to uncover. Surely they wouldn't have randomly chosen to build these cities in such dense forest? Maybe the answer to how the climate and land used to be back then, as well as what happened to the millions of inhabitants, will help us get answers to the cataclysmic theories out there

[@AncientArchitects]

The dense forest has arisen since these settlements were abandoned, I believe.

[@BP-kx2ig]

The trees were not there when this was built.

[@TheWitch297]

Many believe some of these civilizations go back many thousands of years, perhaps tens of thousands of years. The scope of what has been uncovered in places like El Mirador and Calakmul alone suggests a very old civilization or civilization(s) with a plural, that took many thousands of years to build and form their societies. Then that begs the question what happened to them? Obviously their descendants still live in these regions in modern cities or the areas around the ancient cities, but something epic must've happened, something that forced them out and displaced them from these ancient sites, and something which caused them to never return in order to rebuild. That's the answer that has eluded us.

[@hexadecimal7300]

Nice video Matt. When I was in Belize many years ago you would come across many such ruins in the jungle. Flying over in helicopters you could see so many unnatural looking formations that its like they were everywhere. You could even see them from the "highways". Belize is next door to Guatamala and I am sure more accessable but you never hear much about research there 😕. I guess I sort of miss your Egyptian vid as they all were related and quite interconnected. But these other obes are just as interesting. So really my advice would be do whatever you have enough info on to keep your quality up, I for one will watch no matter where in the world it is about.

[@KnavishDave]

Starting to look like we were wiped out in the near past.

[@awokenv7302]

Starting? We were hit by comets / meteorite 12000 years ago . Caused the flood

[@bestpsymusicbest2607]

How many times can we say El Mirador in a video?? 🤔😜Love this channel ! ! \!/

[@AncientArchitects]

Haha. Too many 😂

[@ShortbusMooner]

I'd rather have them overgrown in the forest, than bulldozed over & stuff built on top..

[@AncientArchitects]

Yep... I know what you mean. It just needs some delicate conservation.

[@ShortbusMooner]

Hopefully, they realize the potential tourists & get busy! (carefully!)

[@dueymoar7767]

True that brother. (or sister). Perhaps UNESCO World Heritage site status would protect these places.

[@darrenbradz]

Such a shame people are so greedy. Imagin how much money could be made if these places were opened to the public. With all there artifacts intact.

[@synecdoche8783]

and then the tourists destroy everything gradually

[@ivaxnog6157]

Well, this site is deep in the jungle so it is more of a lacking of resources than they don't wanting to formally do something. No money no development.

[@timpage5021]

@@ivaxnog6157exactly . Most of what’s been done is been by small teams who’s self funded. I watched with Albert Lin a guy who discovers the snake kings and dudes basically been living in the camp for 20 years. He’s personally survived 3 plane crashes to the sight . The planes are still in the trees lol. That’s dedication, place literally trying to kill him.

[@alwoo5645]

Hiked into the jungle last year to visit El Mirador amazing experience

[@asianthor]

Wow, I am envious of you right now. I want to take a trek to El Mirador, one day. Cradle of the Maya civilization.

[@alwoo5645]

@@asianthor you should do it

[@kevinabiwardani7550]

A great informations you gave to us. The world really should know about this wonderful site. About "when you don't talk about Egypt" that is fine since there are many other sites on Earth which you can base your videos on. I want to see your analysis about Pyramids of Xi'an or maybe some Indian Hindu temples which we don't know. I would love to see it. PS. For international viewer and US, I hope you mention both measurement, metric and imperial. You may put the imperial first or the metric first, both are acceptable. Other than that, great videos.

[@CancunCanuck]

I did the trek to El Mirador in August and had an extraordinary experience. Climbing La Danta and El Tigre and the whole jungle trek was life changing. As we walked (about 100 kms in total) we saw lots of looters tunnels all along the way, it's tragic.

[@ritatorrez552]

Great video Matt! My favorite ancient civilization to study! Dang looters!😳 This is why we can't have nice things.👊

[@penneyburgess5431]

In July our family went to Victoria B.C. The natural history museum was featuring the Mayan civilization. It was so incredible. My favorite piece was a reclining statue twice the size of a normal human. He was wearing a panther warrior costume and crawling (like a panther) in motion. I don’t know how many pictures I took of it. It took my breath away. It said it was one of a pair that was on the outside entrance to a building. All I could think was if this was on the outside, what did the rest of the building look like. The sculpture was perfection. My mind still boggles.

[@wearemilesfromnowhere4630]

We know so little. Thank you Matt.

[@asianthor]

Guatemala, the motherland of the Maya civilization.

[@keepz8931]

The Africans from Africa were the Mayans great work

[@cas442]

Amazing Architecture !

[@AncientArchitects]

It’s a beautiful city

[@tobykieft6803]

The pictures in the video look very much like the big pyramid in Calakmul Mexico, just north of the Guatamala border. So they might have been mixed up? Calakmul is an awsome site by the way. Open for tourists and relatively easy to reach.

[@AncientArchitects]

Yes - think i have - I need to change the thumbnail.

[@tobykieft6803]

@@AncientArchitects Great video again by the way. Forgot to mention that :-)

[@AncientArchitects]

Toby Kieft thanks - and thumbnail changed. Shame I can’t change them in the video! Doh.

[@TheSonicDeviant]

Thanks Matt.

[@AncientArchitects]

Thanks for watching

[@astrobat81z45]

Not even been in hospital will stop me from watching your videos,great content and in short we know s&#t about AC AM, fingers crossed that future archeologyst will preserve this sites.

[@AncientArchitects]

Get well soon!

[@wogz187]

By some coincidence I have on my Gallo Cerveca shirt today while watching this.

[@ReinhardvonHolst]

Excellent vid mate

[@JMM33RanMA]

Amazing! Well done!

[@AncientArchitects]

Thank you

[@user-gd8jb3yk2y]

Thank you for the good video. But the pyramid of the video is not El Mirador's La venta, but the calakmul temple I.

[@gypsysnickerdoodle4354]

Oh the audio quality is much better!

[@AncientArchitects]

Is it? In what way. Thanks

[@EduardodeRegules]

Very good video 👍

[@TheWitch297]

I believe the answer of who the actual people were has been staring us in the face for quite a longtime now. Museums in Tabasco and Veracruz paint a very different picture of the civilizations we read about in history books and schools regarding the region. With Guatemala being less than 300m away from sites located in Tabasco and Veracruz, and the ancient city of Calakmul sitting just across Mexico's border, it paints the picture of quite a vast civilization at its apex.

[@dueymoar7767]

It is truly mind blowing how many structures there in fact are, that they've only just found as of the last couple of years, in the Guatemalan jungles using laser scanning. Makes me want to get my Indiana Jones hat! And some bug spray lol. Great video sir, as usual.

[@asianthor]

I wish they would do a lidar scan of the Pacific coast of Guatemala, it's there that archaeologists have found much older artifacts and mounds/ pre-structure pyramids like the Maya would come to build later on.

[@vernonloften5248]

I always enjoy the quick synopsis but, a long more in depth look with the questions people have most generally.

[@bestpsymusicbest2607]

Oh a great night agend, thanks for the that Love from Sweden

[@cristinamartinez1235]

Thank you for your research! It's amazing. Just one comment. The very first and the very last picture you used on your video is not of El Mirador. It is of Calakmul, Mexico. I am Mexican and have been to Calakmul.

[@AncientArchitects]

Oh - thank you for this!

[@peregrinegrace8570]

Its quite likely that there were no Forrest's there when these civilisations were at their height..

[@johnsmith-wx5fb]

I never thought about that

[@johnsmith-wx5fb]

@@bjmurrey odd flex but ok

[@johnsmith-wx5fb]

@@bjmurrey you know what you did B.J . dont worry about it it was a minor flex nothing to crazy. But a flex none the less

[@dueymoar7767]

@@bjmurrey True it was probably heavily deforested if there were forests there anyway

[@drtranielpotatoheadm.d9101]

Hi from Manchester, England 👌👌

[@AncientArchitects]

Hello Manchester!

[@drtranielpotatoheadm.d9101]

@@AncientArchitects Glad you've made your vid.... after the crisps had settled! :) 👌

[@hatshepsut9760]

Thanks Matt, missing Egyptian pyramids I must say. This video is very interesting.

[@lisad1993]

Yet another amazing video covering "my side of the world". Thanks Matt. Nonetheless, I crave the opportunity to teach you Spanish pronunciations :)

[@inLegacy]

it has standed over millenia, remarkable.

[@Solomon7578]

Good video, I thought that the Eldo Rado was the lost city of the Mayan civilization.

[@AncientArchitects]

Cheers

[@AlexMartinez-dc4pe]

El Dorado*

[@Solomon7578]

@@AlexMartinez-dc4pe, thanks for the tip.

[@apokalupsishistoria]

Woohoo! Love the exposure on this place :) Had you already planned a video on this place before I mentioned it? SYNCHRONICITY I watched a youtube blog on a group going out to tour this place but you can literally hear jaguars RIGHT OUTSIDE their tent in the middle of the jungle at night...makes it a little of a "nope" going here for me hehe

[@AncientArchitects]

I had started a script a long time ago but your comment pushed me to finish it and release a video - so thanks!

[@robstewart1703]

Great video 💪

[@leehara2547]

Great stuff..but so sad about possible destruction of ancient city.

[@HayleyBrideau]

All I can think of is the Road to El Dorado

[@TheLostHistoryChannelTKTC]

Early :)

[@AncientArchitects]

5 mins early! 😂

[@Pimpdaddyleif]

I still find it hard to believe that people that didn't even have the wheel and sacrificed humans like crazy had the architectural knowledge to build such precision grand structures.

[@jamessalvatore7054]

For just a second... I thought the title was El Dorado. Heart skipped a beat, thinking " No freaking way"

[@Leonardokite]

7:30 elevated causeways caught my eye. That is stretching things a bit IMO.

[@asianthor]

Actually it's true, Google Maya causeways and you'll see these causeways were up to 15 feet off the ground and in some places up to 21 feet high. It's not an exaggeration, it's data from National Geographic and archaeologist.

[@TheFrog767]

A nice change from Egypt. 👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻

[@LordFred69]

amazing

[@Echowhiskeyone]

I knew there was many 'hidden' sites in the Yucatan and have seen some of the LIDAR imagery, but this seems to be more widespread than first thought.

[@jeremylawson6648]

you got my sub!

[@blue_wolfblade]

Are we getting an Egyptian video again soon? I hope that they can preserve this site so we can see more of it and the things that have come from it.

[@TheEnabledDisabled]

These belongs in museums not in the hands of inexperienced looters

[@AncientArchitects]

Exactly.

[@phillyb8347]

What about experienced looters? 😝

[@draphotube4315]

It DOES not belong in museums but IT belongs to the aboriginal people of Guatemala aka K’iche Mayans!!!!!

[@GriseGaot]

@@draphotube4315 It belongs to humanity, and museums are the best preservatives of history and knowledge. Maybe we need new ideas and eyes on our common history, but museums do a better job then mother earth in preserving it.

[@TheEnabledDisabled]

@@phillyb8347 well they are a few and far between I would imagine, its like poachers

[@smsfelipe]

Are you still creating an Atlantis pt.3? The underwater scan is a real mystery IMO, these can't be bathymetry lines. Were you able to get a response from the scientists that mapped it ? Thanks

[@AncientArchitects]

Yes... I have a Sphinx part 2 and an Atlantis Part 3 to make. I’ll get there!

[@creekwalker62]

In many ways the Aztec, Mayan and Olmec civilizations are more fascinating than the Egyptians.

[@HecmarJayam]

AA, are you ever going to visit any of these ruins? I'd love to see videos of you giving us you own opinions and observation in-location.

[@dallasdelay3468]

Nice

[@marvinherrera3135]

GUATEMAYA,,,, THE BEST

[@helenarovan4896]

But ...... just a thought ...... there couldn’t be any rainforest when it was a living city. Or did the mayans build their cities in the middle of it?! How old are the rainforests actually? I’m thinking of the importance for the climat ...... just a thought 🤔

[@leonhawlitzeck7979]

Hi! Nice video i assume you really know some about that topic =) can you tell me the difference between the Mexican Mayan Temple Calakmul and this Guatemalan El Mirador? Because upon google searching El Mirador ive notice that the results sometimes show the Mexican Mayan Temple Calakmul insteand... Like you in your video at 5:37 i can garantee you thats calakmul, ive just visted it in IRL... So my question is was there a connection between calakmul and El Mirador? Where those cities linked in some kind of way or was one maybe even part of th another structure? Or are those actually two entirely different independent lost mayan temples?

[@leonhawlitzeck7979]

Seemingly great video non the less! Gon rewatch

[@halmoore5028]

personally I still take issue with the dates prescribed by current academia, with more discoveries being made it might behoove everyone to wait till more information is at hand before conclusions are made, which has been the case for decades upon decades,

[@Paid2Win]

I have watched for a while but I have always wondered- why do you talk like that? Do you normally structure your sentences like that or is it just easier to read your script like that? Serious question I am not trying to be rude.

[@keepz8931]

Another great work of the Africans from Africa

[@chrisr6142]

The city/Realm was called Kan, Serpent kingdom. The ruler was called Kuhul Kan Ahaw, Holy Lord of Kan.

[@susanduarte6888]

I am hearing impaired and must depend on captioning for a thorough understanding of the material. When as here, the captions can’t even bother to spell the name of the city the same way twice, captions become just one more bar to understanding. Your dictation app needs a proofreader. Badly.

[@AncientArchitects]

Sorry about this. The captions are added by KZbin - it’s like an automated system. My most recent videos I’ve been uploading the script exactly, with spellings and punctuation etc. I’ll continue to do this for future videos 👍

[@karthikdon5]

Nice video brother....... As usual it's ancient megalithic pyramids that connects with pyramids of Egypt and all pyramids around the world, it's a global one civilization that built all this :) You may find lots of answers from Tamil civilization

[@TheSixpkAmerican]

Yes

[@AncientArchitects]

Enjoy!

[@markschwegler1100]

It's a shame to think we will likely be dust ourselves when the biggest portion of information on this site will be released!!!

[@londonanatolia5050]

Matt Can you please check the site called Nimrud monuments. I have personally been there 15 years ago and there is so much to look into.

[@ghostindamachine]

Maurice Cotterell must he proud of you.

[@AncientArchitects]

Used to love his books.

[@ghostindamachine]

Ancient Architects Same :)

[@AncientArchitects]

Rishi still cherish The Tutankhamen Prophecies in hardback!

[@ghostindamachine]

Ancient Architects second that!

[@Ponferrada22]

Excellent as always, if you wish to pronounce it correctly it would be something like el mirror-door

[@adrazuel]

in El Mirador where the shadows lie...

[@realld50]

If you've never been to Mexico you need to go. Sites you never heard of are everywhere. Plus, tacos!

[@tylerferrell2959]

Do you have any videos on Cholula?

[@asianthor]

Go to Taco Bell, they have great Cholupas.

[@tammicomichellemanns6945]

Does elMirado have an entrance?

[@cafearga]

Those causeways are bonkers. Ok guys we’re gonna build a road. But it’s gonna be tall. Somewhere between one and three men tall. It’s gonna be half a football field wide and go on for miles. (Blank Stares)

[@zodammit]

Maybe there was frequent flooding? Or lots of predatory animals?

[@asianthor]

In one part of the jungle of Guatemala, a causeway has been measured to 18 feet high, now that is amazing.

[@utopiandreamer8540]

Pyramids or towers that slope are a very natural and obvious structure. There is no need for suggesting that they are connected.

[@user-mb1jj4ii5d]

They're actually bigger than the pyramid in Egypt.

[@clanrobertson7200]

The pending impact on that site is just the tip of the iceberg. The slash and burning of the Rain Forest is well documented as the most destructive form of agriculture that humans can use. As you point out, the populations that were sustained used the organic sediment of the swamps along with lime to farm. However, even this practice has its limitations and negative impacts based on resources vs population., and tho swamps are often perceived as useless, they are the nursery and incubator for a complex food chain. The slash and burn coupled with the (low) estimate of $10 million a month is a dramatic picture of the desperate struggle to feed oneself and families even with the specter of ultimate destruction of the environment that sustains life. Every environmental problem comes down to impact based on population. Just as a corporation cannot expect an exponential growth rate forever, neither can the world support exploding minimum substance life styles at the bottom and decadent opulence at the top. The Roman Empire demonstrated that 2,000 years ago among others. Many anthropologist have begun to recognize how rich and lush the flora and fauna had to be for the great Sumerian and Egyptian environments had to be to sustain them so long. Regardless of major climatic/galactic impacts my have had on humanity, Historic Concentrated Civilizations have all ended up creating deserts from savannas. The old professor

[@AncientArchitects]

Thanks for the great comment.

[@clanrobertson7200]

Ancient Architects How could you have read it that fast?

[@curiousworldview]

hows the pronunciation of 'mirador'

[@ketzer9999]

Relatively recent collapse of an advanced civilization for reasons still unknown to us... Nothing to study here, It certainly cant happen to us, right???

[@xNICAxMaX1MuS]

I will go when they clear they forest

[@yelena7997]

“Oldest found Maya structure found in Guatemala.. pre date previous Mayan structures by hundreds of yrs”? Perhaps they weren’t Mayan. Or a later branch, tribe became Mayan?🤔

[@asianthor]

The Maya civilization of Guatemala goes back to 2,000 BC.