Mayan civilization is known for its massive temples, writing system and contributions to science, yet the civilization's origins remain something of a mystery.
The discovery of a Mayan ceremonial complex in an archeological site called Ceibal has led archaeologists to believe the civilization began building pyramids and plazas as early as 1,000 B.C., according to a press release. That predates any other Mayan temple found by almost 200 years.
"It is a fascinating culture,"Take shi Inomata, lead researcher for the project, told Medill University. "It is also an important heritage for today's Maya people and for all the humanity."
Currently, there are 6 million Maya people in Central America.
The Ceibal site is located in the Central American lowlands. Researchers believe the temple would have been used for religious rituals and as a solar observatory.
The findings suggest the Maya moved from hunter-gatherer societies to farming around the time. It also hints the Maya didn't develop their culture independently nor were they based on an earlier peoples called Olmec. In fact, researchers think the beginnings of Mayan civilization are even more complex.
Scientists do know the Maya began emerging as a people earlier than thought. Ritual greenstone axes used in ceremonies were found at the Ceibal site. Nearby temples and architecture also point to the style of architecture found at the Ceibal temple and other Mayan pyramids.
"It's signaling to us that the Maya were not receiving this sophisticated stuff 500 years later from somebody else, but much of the innovation we're seeing out of the whole region may be coming out of Ceibal or a place like Ceibal," Longwood University's Walter Witschey said.
Inomata said that previous origin theories "categorized those ethnic groups or cultural groups too much. Basically this name, Olmec or Maya, those are sort of labels that we impose on those people. It's very difficult to determine what kind of identity those people had."
