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Central America

This colonnaded open hall—unearthed in the Maya city of Ucanal in 2024—may have been a council house.

Cool Finds

In Times of Trouble, the Maya Rejected Divine Kingship. This Newly Discovered Public Building Reveals How the Transition to Shared Power Unfolded

Archaeologists in northern Guatemala unearthed a colonnaded open hall that may have served as a council house, where local leaders and everyday people met to discuss political issues

The owl symbolizes night and death in Zapotec culture.

Cool Finds

This Carved, Painted Zapotec Tomb Is Mexico’s Most Important Archaeological Discovery in a Decade

The tomb features the carvings of a huge owl head and at least three probable ancestors

A female green hermit hummingbird

These Male Hummingbirds Evolved Straighter, Sharper Bills So They Could Better Joust for Mates

While female green hermit hummingbirds have curved bills, males’ straighter mouthparts are built for stabbing one another, a new study suggests

The Mayan Languages Preservation and Digitization Project (MLPP) was launched in 2023 to preserve around 20 Mayan languages, including Qʼeqchiʼ, Kʼicheʼ and Kaqchikel.

Millions of Maya Still Call Mesoamerica Home. This Groundbreaking Initiative Ushers the Rich Tapestry of Mayan Languages Into the Digital Age

The Mayan Languages Preservation and Digitization Project promotes tools designed by and for Indigenous communities, like online glossaries and special phone keyboards

A handler holds her Chihuahua dogs in the grooming area at the 149th Annual Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show at Jacob K. Javits Convention Center on February 10, 2025, in New York City. 

How One Chihuahua Proved to Be a Link to the Ancient Dogs That Moved to Latin America With the Spread of Agriculture

New research shows that ancient dogs did not join Indigenous people in Central and South America until farming became popular—especially of maize

The pok-ta-pok revival began in Mexico in the mid-1900s, but it only picked up steam over the past decade, with Belize playing a leading role on the global stage.

In Belize, Maya Descendants Are Reviving an Ancient, Sacred Ballgame

A movement is underway to make pok-ta-pok, the world’s oldest team ballgame, the national sport

The tomb was found in an acropolis to the right of Caana, the central architectural complex at Caracol, which is more than 140 feet tall.

Cool Finds

Archaeologists Unearth Treasure-Filled Tomb Belonging to the First Known Ruler of a Maya City in Belize

Te K’ab Chaak was a wealthy warrior king who rose to power in 331 C.E. His burial is the first royal tomb found in the ancient city of Caracol

These skeletons of two hunter-gatherer individuals excavated at the Checua archaeological site north of Bogotá, Colombia, helped uncover the genetic details of a mysterious population.

Ancient DNA Reveals Mysterious New Group of Humans in Colombia With No Genetic Ties to People Today

The previously undocumented lineage of hunter-gatherers seems to have disappeared around 2,000 years ago

Researchers revealed that differences in sloth habitats drove the wide variation in size seen in extinct species.

Giant Sloths the Size of Elephants Once Walked Along the Ground. Here’s How the Massive Animals Evolved and Declined

Researchers analyzed fossils and DNA to get a big-picture view of sloth evolution and determine what drove their immense size variation

Marine archeologist Andreas Kallmeyer Bloch documents the shipwreck.

Cool Finds

Locals Thought These Shipwrecks Had Belonged to Pirates. They Turned Out to Be 300-Year-Old Danish Slave Ships

The two vessels had been trafficking hundreds of enslaved Africans when a navigational error led them astray. They sank off the coast of Costa Rica in the 18th century

 An artist's rendering of the altar

New Research

Archaeologists Unearth Intricately Decorated Altar That May Have Been Used for Ancient Sacrifices in Guatemala

Discovered in the ruins of Tikal, the altar sheds light on strained relations between the Maya city and Teotihuacán—which was located more than 600 miles away

A technician climbs a tower to locate lightning strikes in the study area on Panama's Barro Colorado Island.

Being Struck by Lightning Is No Big Deal for This Tropical Tree—the Zap Even Gives It a Boost

The almendro tree may have evolved to attract lightning, which helps clear more space for it to grow, according to new research

Early avocado farmers left a lasting mark on the development of agriculture.

New Research

New Study Reveals How Humans Cultivated Avocados Over Thousands of Years

Research in Honduras shows that humans began selecting for larger fruits with thicker rinds as early as 7,500 years ago—long before maize arrived in the region

The three larger figurines measure about a foot tall.

Cool Finds

Archaeologists Unearth Ancient Clay Puppets With Open Mouths and Detachable Heads That ‘Resemble Modern Toy Dolls’

The figurines were discovered in a largely unexcavated site in El Salvador. Some 2,400 years ago, they were controlled by strings that passed through their necks

A 2019 drought allowed researchers to excavate some of the typically waterlogged canals.

New Research

Archaeologists Discover Ancient Canals Used to Trap Fish in Belize 4,000 Years Ago

Pre-Maya hunter-gatherers built the system in Central America in response to a drought between 2200 and 1900 B.C.E., according to a new study

In Ecuador, a glass frog from a new species identified in 2022, Hyalinobatrachium nouns, hangs from the underside of a leaf, seen from below.

The Andes’ Translucent Glass Frogs Need to Be Seen to Be Saved

The amphibians are at the mercy of mining operations that are destroying their ecosystems, but local communities throughout South America are fighting back

A sloth in its natural habitat in Costa Rica, where sloth populations have decreased in the past decade, according to Rebecca Cliffe, lead author of the research.

New Research

Amid Rising Temperatures, Sloths’ Slowness May Put Their Survival at Risk

The world’s slowest mammal is at risk of extinction by the end of the century due to their low metabolic rate and climate change

The skull rack at Chichén Itzá was created to honor the Maya's dead.

A Mass Grave of Maya Boys May Shed Light on Human Sacrifice in Chichén Itzá

Researchers have genetically tested the bones and made determinations of gender and family relations

This page from the Madrid Codex depicts the Maya honey harvest.

Cool Finds

Centuries-Old Maya Beekeeping Tools Unearthed in Mexico

Archaeologists in the Yucatán Peninsula found several stone lids used by the pre-Columbian civilization to collect honey from stingless bees

Researchers tested samples from seven ceramic vessels found on the ancient site of Cotzumalhuapa, and they found nicotine residue in three of them.

New Research

Mesoamericans May Have Drunk Tobacco During Rituals 1,000 Years Ago

New research reveals evidence of nicotine residue on vases unearthed in Guatemala

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