Caves, Sinkholes and Chultuns: New Evidence for the Importance of Earth Openings in Ancient Mesoamerica Religion

Part of: Society for American Archaeology 80th Annual Meeting, San Francisco, CA (2015)

When Mesoamerican cave archaeology began to take shape in the 1980s and 1990s an early consensus formed around using the term “cave” in the sense of the Maya word ch'e'en which indicates not simply a cave but also a large number of other holes that penetrate the earth. Additionally, indigenous peoples show far less concern for whether the hole is of a natural or human origin. Recent reach continues to demonstrate that traditional caves are important landmarks in the landscape but, additionally, archaeologists have begun to show that many more features were marked by ancient peoples as having sacred significance. This session brings together fresh perspectives on the subject.

Other Keywords
Maya • Caves • Cave • Ritual • Sacred Geography • Cave archaeology • Mexico • wind • Teotihuacan • Mesoamerica

Geographic Keywords
Mesoamerica • Central America • North America - Southwest

Resources Inside This Collection (Viewing 1-15 of 15)

  • Documents (15)
Documents
  1. An Analysis of Lithic Production at the La Milpa Sinkhole (RB-25-A5) (2015)
  2. Architectural Ambivalence: An Interpretation of the Nohoch Tunich Bedrock Outcrop Complex, Pacbitun, Belize (2015)
  3. Architectural Caves and Glyphic Stepped Platforms (2015)
  4. Hallowed (under)Ground – Ancient Maya Dark Zone Use Patterns in the Subterranean Realm of Yaxcaba, Central Yucatan, Mexico (2015)
  5. Integrative 3D visualization for spatial analysis and interpretation of rock shelters in Quintana Roo, Mexico (2015)
  6. Landscape Archaeology in Northern Belize: The Need for a Critical Reassessment (2015)
  7. Little Finds Big Results: The Utility of Small Artifacts in the Spatial Analyses of Looted Sites (2015)
  8. The Montezuma Canyon Citadel Complex: A Major Prehistoric Religious Shrine (2015)
  9. Primacy of the Cave at the Sun Pyramid, Teotihuacan (2015)
  10. The Ritual Reuse of Maya Cave Shrines after Abandonment (2015)
  11. The Sinkhole as Ch'een: A Closer Look at Ancient Maya Sacred Geography (2015)
  12. Sinking Archaeological Teeth into the Dental Modification Issue: An Examination of Midnight Terror Cave (2015)
  13. Some Methodological Problems with the Study of Non-Urban Caves in Northern Belize (2015)
  14. Subadult human sacrifices in Midnight Terror Cave (2015)
  15. A Wind from the Depths of the Earth (2015)