News Archaeology

Ancient Central Americans built a massive fish-trapping system

The fish-trapping network fed the growth of early Maya centers

A massive pond and earthen channels used by Maya people to catch fish

Remote sensing techniques enabled researchers to identify a massive fish-trapping network, including a pond (shown here) and earthen channels, constructed in Central America around 4,000 years ago.

By Bruce Bower

Starting around 4,000 years ago, an elaborate fish-trapping system nourished expanding human populations in lowland Central America, a new study finds. The discovery of this massive construction project indicates that aquatic foods at least partly supported the rise of Maya civilization roughly a millennium later.