A careful study of a large area in Mexico has found hundreds of ancient ceremonial centers.

一项对墨西哥大片地区的仔细研究发现了数百个古代仪式中心。

The new findings include a large center at an important place for the ancient Olmec culture that is known for its large stone statues of heads.

新发现包括一个属于古代奥尔梅克文明的大型仪式中心，该文明以巨石雕像而闻名。

The study involved a technology called lidar.

这项研究涉及一种名为激光雷达的技术。

It found 478 ceremonial centers in areas that were home to the ancient Olmec and Maya cultures dating from 3400 hundred years to 1400 years ago.

在3400年前到1400年前的古代奥尔梅克文化和玛雅文化的发源地地区发现了478个仪式中心。

The study was the largest of its kind involving ancient Mesoamerica, covering all of the state of Tabasco, southern Veracruz and parts of Chiapas, Campeche and Oaxaca.

这项研究是涉及古代中美洲的同类研究中规模最大的，涵盖了整个塔巴斯科州、韦拉克鲁斯州南部以及恰帕斯州、坎佩切州和瓦哈卡州的部分地区。

Lidar is short for Light Detection and Ranging.

激光雷达是激光探测及测距系统的简称。

It uses a laser and data gathered while flying over a place to create three-dimensional information about the surface.

它使用激光和在其飞越一个地方时收集的数据来创建地表三维信息。

The technology is able to "see" through thick plants and trees that cover structures below.

该技术能够“看到”覆盖在建筑下方的茂密植物和树木。

Takeshi Inomata of the University of Arizona led the study.

这项研究是由亚利桑那大学的野田武主导的。

It was published in Nature Human Behaviour.

该研究发表在《自然-人类行为》杂志上。

He said said lidar found a large and previously unknown ceremonial space in Veracruz, at the early Olmec site called San Lorenzo.

他说，激光雷达在韦拉克鲁斯州发现了一个以前不为人知的大型仪式空间，它位于奥尔梅克早期的圣洛伦索遗址上。

The Olmecs represent the oldest-known major Mesoamerican culture.

奥尔梅克人代表了已知最古老的中美洲主要文化。

Scientists say the people are believed to have had an effect on later cultures, including the Maya.

科学家说，这些人被认为对后来的文化产生了影响，包括玛雅文化。

The ceremonial center in San Lorenzo measures about 1,000 meters by 275 meters.

圣洛伦索遗址仪式中心长约1000米，宽275米。

The areas around it may have had houses, Inomata said.

野田说，它周围的地区可能有房屋。

The Olmecs carved heads from individual boulders, or very large rocks.

奥尔梅克人用一块块巨石或非常大的岩石雕刻头像。

The heads are among the most famous art from ancient Mesoamerica.

这些头像是古代中美洲最著名的艺术品之一。

The faces are carved in such a way that experts believe they represent ancient Olmec rulers.

专家认为以这样的方式雕刻出来的脸代表的是古代奥尔梅克的统治者。

Ten of the heads have been discovered at San Lorenzo.

其中十个头像是在圣洛伦索遗址被发现的。

Inomata said there may be more of them that remain undiscovered.

野田说，可能还有更多尚未被发现的头像。

Many of the hundreds of ceremonial structures identified in the study share common designs with that at San Lorenzo.

在这项研究中确定的数百个仪式建筑中，有许多与圣洛伦索遗址仪式中心的建筑有着共同的设计。

Many appear to have been built in a way that goes with the direction of the sunrise on important ceremonial dates.

许多建筑似乎是按照重要仪式日期的日出方向建造的。

"These centers were probably the earliest material expressions of basic concepts of Mesoamerican calendars," Inomata said, noting that such calendars were based on 20-day periods.

野田说：“这些中心可能是中美洲历法基本概念最早的物质表现形式。”他指出，这样的历法是以20天为周期的。

An even larger ceremonial center, described by Inomata and his co-researchers last year, was found in the Maya area called Aguada Fenix in Tabasco near the Guatemalan border.

野田和他的合作研究人员去年发现了一个更大的仪式中心，这个名为阿瓜达·菲尼克斯的遗址位于塔巴斯科州的玛雅地区，靠近危地马拉边境。

It is not as old as the one at San Lorenzo.

它没有圣洛伦索遗址仪式中心那么古老。

That find and others suggest that Olmecs and other peoples in the area exchanged ideas.

这一发现和其他发现表明，奥尔梅克人和该地区的其他民族交换了思想。

Lidar has been increasingly useful for archaeologists.

激光雷达对考古学家来说越来越有用。

Juan Carlos Fernandez-Diaz is a Lidar engineer and co-writer of the study.

胡安·卡洛斯·费尔南德斯-迪亚兹是一名激光雷达工程师，也是这项研究的合著者。

The technology's main strength, he said, "is that it provides a three-dimensional, birds-eye view of the landscape and modifications to it made by humans—ancient and modern—in the form of building, transportation, agricultural and water control infrastructure."

他说，这项技术的主要优势是，“它提供了一个三维鸟瞰景观，以及人类对其进行的改造，无论是古代的还是现代的，形式包括建筑、交通、农业和水利基础设施。”

Lidar permits "us to 'see' the landscape and infrastructure" hidden under forest cover around the world, he said.

他说，激光雷达使“我们能够‘看到’隐藏在世界各地森林覆盖下的景观和基础设施。”

I'm Caty Weaver.

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来源：VOA News