Mayan Stone Highways

MAYAN STONE HIGHWAYS

[Recently Colonel Charles A. Lindbergh flew over the jungles of northern Central America and Mexico, seeking ancient ruins—from the air! The discoveries of ancient Mayan cities, roads, temples and other ruins, are of interest to Latter-day Saints in connection with the story of the Book of Mormon. Herewith is presented an extract from the Science Supplement, concerning ancient stone roads.—Editor M. S.].

By some such method the stone highways which the Mayas built to connect their important cities can probably be traced.

It is only a few years ago that the existence of these smooth stone roads, thirty to sixty feet wide, was discovered. Dr. Thomas Gann, who found sections of the roads in the forest near Cuba, concluded that the Mayas could not have needed such highways for traffic, since they had no wagons or beasts of burden and since they would have found dirt roads suitable for their long journeys. The roads, he believes, must have been labouriously constructed over long distances between religious centres for use by the religious processions of priests, votaries and sacrificial victims.

One highway for which search will be made is the road which Dr. Gann believes must have stretched from Coha to Cozumel Island to which the Mayas made religious pilgrimages. Another may have led from Cuba to Chichen Itza, famed religious city, sacred to the deity known as the Plumed Serpent.