The Planned Conversion of a Sascabera into a Man-made Cave: Evidence from Chichen Itza

Summary

This is an abstract from the "Studies in Mesoamerican Subterranean Archaeology" session, at the 84th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology.

During the construction of a plaza group on a 5 m high raised platform, a sascabera was excavated into the hill that formed the nucleus of the group. The original circular opening in the cap rock was carefully maintained. When the platform was completed, the northern end of the sascabera was filled with rubble and smoothed to form the base of the platform. A floor-to-ceiling retaining wall was built against the rubble to protect the southern portion. The circular entrance now permitted entry into the cave-like chamber. The planning was such that the opening and chamber were placed in the center of the plaza on the platform. A capstone in the form of a possible turtle was found near the entrance. Over 2300 sherds were recovered from the small chamber. A number of sherds were covered with calcium carbonate, indicating that they had been redeposited from a cave. Additionally, a stalagmite in the form of a phallus was found. Clearly, the Maya had plans to create a cave from the time that the sascabera was begun and presented a clear message of their intent by caching vessels from another cave in this space.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Studies in Mesoamerican Subterranean Archaeology   •
• Society for American Archaeology 84th Annual Meeting, Albuquerque, NM (2019)

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Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 25409