[1/3] A graphic illustrating new details, uncovered using LiDAR laser technology, of the ancient Mayan city of Calakmul, Mexico, in this undated handout image. Proyecto Arqueologico Bajo Laberinto/INAH/Handout via REUTERSMEXICO CITY, Oct 27 (Reuters) - A laser-powered study of the sprawling metropolis of Calakmul in southern Mexico offers tantalizing new evidence that it may have been the most crowded ancient Maya urban center during the civilization's classical peak some 1,300 years ago. The new LIDAR study announced late Wednesday by Mexican antiquities institute INAH covers the jungle-covered ruins of once-mighty Calakmul, located in the central lowlands of the Yucatan peninsula near the Guatemalan border. Reese-Taylor noted the new preliminary maps of the barely three-month old data show extensive residential apartment complexes clustered around temples and possible markets. Previous estimates suggested the city's population likely reached some 50,000 inhabitants, but the new study could force a recalculation.

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