Satellites spot lost Maya temples
Archeologists team with NASA in search for clues about ancient civilization
Deep in the Guatemalan jungle, NASA archaeologist Dr. Tom Sever, right, and Rob Griffin, a graduate student at Pennsylvania State University, study a crumbled "stele," a stone pyramid used by the Maya to record information or display
GUATEMALA CITY - Ancient Maya astronomers aligned their soaring temples with the stars and now modern archeologists have found the ruins of hidden cities in the Guatemalan jungle by peering down from space.
Archeologists and NASA scientists began teaming up five years ago to search for clues about the mysterious collapse of the Maya civilization that flourished in Central America and southern Mexico for 1,000 years.
The work is paying off, says archeologist William Saturno, who recently discovered five sprawling sites with hundreds of buildings using a spy satellite that can see through clouds and forest to reveal differences in the vegetation below.
