The Maya built the Western Hemisphere's first water filtration system

The Maya city of Tikal is famous for its soaring palaces and temples. But something far more humble kept Tikal functioning: its water filtration system, the earliest known of its kind. Researchers recently discovered a volcanic mineral that captures microbes and heavy metals in one of Tikal's largest reservoirs. Because the material is not found nearby, the finding suggests the presence of a deliberate filter.

Nestled in the tropical forests of northern Guatemala, Tikal flourished for more than 1000 years. At the height of its prosperity, around 700 C.E., it's thought to have been home to more than 45,000 people."It was one of the preeminent Maya cities," says Nicholas Dunning, a UC geoarchaeologist. A few years ago, Dunning and his colleagues excavated sediments from several of Tikal's reservoirs. They were surprised to find that one of the largest reservoirs, Corriental, had significantly less contamination from heavy metals, toxin-producing algae, and a mineral associated with fecal pollution than the others."The water quality at Corriental was much higher," Dunning says.

So, the researchers looked closer at the sediments at the bottom of the reservoir. The first hint of an ancient filter was the discovery of quartz crystals. The scientists found four distinct layers, each a few centimeters thick, of brownish, millimeter-scale crystals. Then, the researchers examined the quartz in greater detail and discovered it was dotted with even smaller crystals of"zeolites.

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