Archaeologist answers Archaeology questions from YouTube

Got questions about Maya lidar discoveries, ancient ballgames, or Viking artifacts in North America? In this video I dive into your most intriguing queries from my first month on YouTube as an Americas archaeologist:

• I explain why no new Maya cities have been uncovered purely by LiDAR yet, and who is still finding them the old-school way
• I bust the myth that winners of the Maya ballgame were sacrificed, a story that began as a harmless tour-guide tall tale
• I reassess Arizona’s so-called “ball courts” at Wupatki and show why I believe they were performance platforms rather than game arenas
• I tackle the scattered Viking-artifact rumors and explain why most finds outside Newfoundland are almost certainly hoaxes
• I reflect on early viewer corrections, from place-name pronunciations to site locations, and why every detail matters

Join me as I set the record straight, share the stories behind each question, and promise to keep learning alongside you. Drop your next archaeology question in the comments and I’ll answer the best ones in a future video!

⏱️ Chapters
00:00 Kicking Off Our First Q&A
00:44 LiDAR vs New Maya Cities: What’s Been Found?
01:25 Ivan Šprajc and Old-School Jungle Discoveries
02:07 Ballgame Sacrifices: Winners vs Losers Myth
03:19 Wupatki “Ball Courts”: Dance Platforms or Game Fields?
05:06 Viking Artifacts in the U.S.: Fact or Fiction?
07:00 Newfoundland Pronunciations and Other Corrections
08:28 Wrapping Up and Your Next Questions