[ti:Scientists Find Largest, Oldest-Known Mayan Structure] [by:www.51voa.com] [00:00.00]更多听力请访问51VOA.COM [00:00.04]Scientists have discovered the largest and oldest-known structure [00:06.68]that was built by the ancient Mayan people. [00:10.96]Large and shaped like a rectangle, [00:14.40]the structure was built between 2,800 and 3,000 years ago [00:21.60]in what is now the Mexican state of Tabasco. [00:26.12]Unlike the large Mayan pyramids built some 1,500 years later, [00:33.36]the newly discovered building was made with clay and earth. [00:39.08]It was likely used for ceremonies, researchers say. [00:45.12]Built near the Guatemalan border, [00:48.32]the structure measured nearly 400 meters wide and nearly 1,400 meters long. [00:57.24]It stood between 10 and 15 meters high. [01:01.72]It had more volume -- the amount of space -- than Egypt's Great Pyramid of Giza. [01:09.72]Researchers noted that there were no signs of statues of powerful or wealthy people. [01:18.08]This suggests Mayan culture may have had more equality during this period. [01:25.32]Takeshi Inomata, an archaeologist at the University of Arizona, led the research. [01:34.48]The findings were published in the scientific journal Nature. [01:40.32]Inomata said that because the structure is so large, [01:45.72]"it just looks like natural landscape. [01:49.12]But its form comes out nicely in lidar," he added. [01:54.68]Lidar is short for Light Detection and Ranging, [02:00.16]a method for measuring distances. [02:03.52]It uses a laser and other information collected by flying over an area [02:10.76]to create three-dimensional information about a surface's shape. [02:16.68]Some parts of the site are currently covered with cattle ranches. [02:22.60]Other parts have trees. [02:25.48]But in ancient times, Inomata said, [02:29.08]the structure was likely used for special events. [02:33.92]People probably walked on raised paths and inside the rectangular structure. [02:40.76]He said they left symbolic objects behind, such as jade axes. [02:47.60]I'm John Russell. 更多听力请访问51VOA.COM