A major archaeological discovery was recently made in Mexico. This seems like something out of an Indiana Jones film, but it’s real life.

According to an announcement this week from Mexico’s Institute of Anthropology (INAH), an unknown ancient Mayan City was recently found deep in the jungle.

The city was reportedly a key hotspot for the Mayan people about a thousand years ago. It was located using radar imaging tech (LiDAR) in the south of the country under thick jungle foliage.

There are large pyramid-shaped structures in the city, stone pillars, and a circular style of organization of the city. INAH has named the city Ocumtun, which means “stone pillar” in the ancient Mayan indigenous language.

The ancient city is in a natural preserve area named Balamku about a three-hour drive south of the city of Campeche, which is on Mexico’s Yucatan Peninsula.

The Mayan civilization had advanced astrological ideas for its time, as well as mathematical discoveries.

However, the Mayans already started losing control and collapsing. This happened several hundred years before Spanish explorers and soldiers ever came to South America and defeated what was left of the Mayans in the late 1690s.

Archaeologist Ivan Sprajc, who helped make the discovery, noted that another interesting feature of the city is its game court and altars next to a nearby river.

The game was played with a rubber ball thrown through a stone hoop, like a type of basketball game. Losers would sometimes have their heart cut out and eaten in front of the cheering crowds as part of a religious ritual.

This is certainly a tough punishment for losing a match.

There is still much more to discover. Fields like archaeology and anthropology still have much more to find out about humanity’s ancient history and civilizations!