Archaeologists Discover 4,000-Year-Old Canals Used to Fish by Predecessors of Ancient Maya

Altar Q that depicts 16 kings in the dynastic succession of the city inside the archeological site of Copan, in Copan Ruinas, Honduras, on July 3, 2021. Rodrigo Abd/AP Photo

WASHINGTON—Long before the ancient Maya built temples, their predecessors were already altering the landscape of Central America’s Yucatan peninsula.

Using drones and Google Earth imagery, archaeologists have discovered a 4,000-year-old network of earthen canals in what’s now Belize. The findings were published Friday in Science Advances.