STORY: Dense jungle stretches from northern Guatemala to southern Mexico. For thousands of years, the canopy has kept a secret here that has now been revealed for the first time. One study uncovered nearly 1,000 ancient Mayan settlements connected by what may be the world’s first road network. To do this, scientists had to look through the vegetation. Using a laser, they scanned the surface of the earth under the treetops from airplanes. And discovered structures that were older than those known at the height of Mayan civilization. Josephine Thompson, FARES Research Foundation: “We found structures and water systems, transport networks, roads, residential areas and agricultural areas and the connections between them.” / “And now that we know the exact GPS locations, we can dig in specific areas and ask the questions that scientists really want to know. We have a multidisciplinary team of archaeologists, botanists, biologists and geologists.” Recent analysis also revealed an extensive system of stone highways, some 40 meters wide. The first web of this type in the ancient world, according to the researchers. The most recent finds date from the middle to late Preclassic Maya civilization, approximately from 1000 to 350 BC. Chr.