Pre-Hispanic ball games, widespread throughout the Maya region, consist of passing a rubber ball representing the sun across a court without the use of hands and getting it through a small stone hoop. The Ocomtun site has a core area, located on high ground surrounded by extensive wetlands, that includes several pyramid-like structures up to 15 meters high, lead archaeologist Ivan Sprajc said in a statement. Widespread political collapse led to its decline centuries before the arrival of Spanish conquistadors, whose military campaigns saw the last stronghold fall in the late 17th century. The Maya civilization, known for its advanced mathematical calendars, spanned southeast Mexico and parts of Central America. The search took place between March and June using aerial laser mapping (LiDAR) technology. It is located in the Balamku ecological reserve on the country's Yucatan Peninsula and was discovered during a search of a largely unexplored stretch of jungle larger than Luxembourg. INAH said the city, which it has named Ocomtun - meaning "stone column" in the Yucatec Maya language - would have been an important center for the peninsula's central lowland region between 2 AD. The city includes large pyramid-like buildings, stone columns, three plazas with "imposing buildings" and other structures arranged in almost-concentric circles, the INAH institute said. MEXICO CITY, June 20 (Reuters) - A previously unknown ancient Maya city has been discovered in the jungles of southern Mexico, the country's anthropology institute said on Tuesday, adding it was likely an important center more than a thousand years ago.
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