They may have lived some 1,700 years ago,but the ancient Maya had an incredible knowledge of celestial bodies,which they believed influenced everything from harvest to death.

Now a 15-year-old boy has studied astronomical charts devised by these ancient Mexican people,as well as satellite photos,to pinpoint the location of a forgotten Mayan city.William Gadoury,from Quebec has named the"lost city"in the Yucatan jungle K'aak Chi,or Mouth of Fire.

Satellite images suggest the lost city could be among the largest built by the ancient civilization,which thrived between 300 and 700 AD.

Wondering why the ancient people built their cities far away from rivers and in inhospitable mountains prompted the teenager to look to the sky for answers,because the Mayans worshiped the stars.Incredibly,the brightest of the stars match up with the largest cities.

"!was really surprised and excited when I realized that the most brilliant stars of the constellations matched the largest Maya cities."He told The Journal of Montreal.

He is said to be the first to make the connection,which could lead to further finds.

It was in the 23rd constellation,containing three stars,that he found two matching cities on the map,suggesting one has not yet been re-discovered.

To investigate further,he used satellite images from the Canadian Space Agency and Google Earth to search the dense jungle for any signs of buildings.

The photographs revealed linear features that"stuck out,"Daniel De Lisle,from the Canadian Space Agency told The Independent.

"There are linear features that would suggest there is something underneath that big canopy,"he said.

Armand La Rocque,from the University of New Brunswick believes one of the images shows network of streets leading to a large square,which may be a pyramid."A square is not natural,it is mostly artificial and can hardly be attributed to natural phenomena,"he said.

It's possible 30 buildings accompany an impressive pyramid at the site.If true,the lost city would be one of the five largest known to archaeologists,built by the Mayans.

Linking the position of stars and the location of a lost city and the use of satellite images on a tiny terri-tory to identify the remains buried under dense vegetation,is quite exceptional.

Dr.La Rocque thinks William Gadoury's technique could lead archaeologists to pinpointing the location of more possible lost Mayan metropolises.

It can be learned from the passage that the newly-found Maya city was__________.查看材料

• A.found in a jungle
• B.built along rivers 1,700 years ago
• C.built far away from rivers 300 years ago
• D.built along rivers between 300 and 700 AD