Valeriana is an ancient, lost city in Southern Mexico hidden under jungle canopy for centuries, recently discovered via a Google search. How did that happen you ask? Luke Auld-Thomas’ research on Mayan settlements had him poking around on the internet which led him to a LIDAR survey - a laser-based technology used in this case for terrain mapping. When he ran the data, he realized there was an entire city, of a significant size, entirely covered in dense vegetation. Could there be more of these ancient settlements, just a few clicks away, waiting to be found? Tulane doctoral student Luke Auld-Thomas joins The Excerpt to share how he stumbled into the discovery of a lifetime. (This episode originally aired on January 1, 2025.)

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