Exploring Maya Ritual Caves by Chládek Stanislav

Author:Chládek, Stanislav [Chládek, Stanislav]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: AltaMira Press
Published: 2011-06-15T00:00:00+00:00

Figure 3.1. Rock carving at the Nahkab entrance to Loltun Cave, Yucatán, Mexico. It shows a preclassic ruler in a guise of the rain god Chaak. The glyphs are so far unreadable.

In one large chamber with an opening in the high ceiling and with roots of trees from above reaching down, there are two stalagmites fashioned into crude idols, likenesses of Xibalba demons. On the walls are petroglyphs, including “stone flowers,” and negative and positive prints of hands in black and ochre. Some of the handprints have six fingers—a deformity considered by the Maya a sign of divinity. As noted, these handprints perhaps indicated the spot through which a shaman entered the underworld, were simply a statement of “I was here,” or were, as archaeologist Guillermo de Anda has suggested, “signatures” of victims prior to a sacrifice. There are many other paintings in several areas of Gruta Loltun, ranging from the preclassic to late classic period and corresponding to the age of excavated ceramics. Some of the paintings have been destroyed by visitors.

In a cavern called Huechil (Armadillo), archeological excavations have unearthed mammoth, bison, cat, and other prehistoric animal bones, indicating that the climate in Central America was cooler then.

Cueva Xcoch, February 2009

The ruins of the Maya city of Xcoch are hidden in selva (tropical forest) fifteen kilometers from the village of Santa Helena, south of Merida on Mexico’s Yucatán peninsula. The site has not been excavated, but at least four large pyramids gave us an idea of its former grandeur.

Some of the walls, terraces, and pyramids here were built from large mega-stones, dating the city to the preclassic period. On the other hand, the rectangular plaza at the foot of the highest and most impressive pyramid is littered with carved stones typical of the Yucatán late classic Puuc style. The site was probably inhabited from at least the middle preclassic to late classic period.

Working through the bush, my guide Humberto Bonillo and I climbed the highest pyramid, gaining a good view of Santa Helena church (standing on the mound of an old Maya pyramid) toward the east and the ruins of Uxmal, fifteen kilometers south. The second highest pyramid has an entrance to a water cave at its foot. Apparently the pyramid was built immediately above the cave (which has its water source deep inside) to increase its sanctity. Similar to Dos Pilas or Mayapan, this watery cave determined the site for building. We descended a short ladder through the entrance shaft of the cave and crawled through a long, low tunnel. We came to a higher area with several side alcoves and saw just a few ceramic shards. There were also two carved stones: one was a cylindrical, Puuc-style column; the second one was a conical carved stone, possibly an altar. The round column must have originally been a corner decoration of some surface building and was probably brought to the cave as an offering. Nearby were small piles of blackened human bones, including the fragments of a child’s cranium.

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