A Stunning Archaeological Discovery Suggests the Mayans Had Direct Contact With Another Civilization More Than 800 Miles Away A high-tech discovery reveals that the ancient Mesoamerican kingdom of Teotihuacan may have a settlement in the Maya city of Tikal. Teotihuacan, Pyramid of the Moon. Photo by DEA/C. Novara/De Agostini via Getty Images. An ancient temple hidden right under archaeologists’ noses at Tikal, one of the world’s most famous Maya sites, hints at a tantalizing connection between the Guatemalan city and Teotihuacan, a Mesoamerican civilization near modern-day Mexico City, more than 800 miles away. Thanks to an aerial image created via Light Detection and Ranging (LiDAR), archaeologists now know that an unassuming hill in the Tikal landscape is actually a buried pyramid hidden beneath layers of dirt and plants.