At the Gates of Xibalba: The Chultunob of El Mirador, Guatemala

Summary

This is an abstract from the "Recent Multidisciplinary Investigations in the Mirador Basin, Guatemala" session, at the 86th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology.

Subterranean chambers known as chultuns or chultunob exist in great numbers in sites throughout the Maya world, with over 300 being found in the city site of El Mirador alone. Although seemingly ubiquitous, the function of these structures has yet to be fully understood, with a variety of uses having been proposed over the last 130 years. Within the Mirador Basin a number of these structures have been excavated, with an assortment being selected from both elite and residential areas. This paper presents the latest findings in the ongoing excavation and analysis of the chultunob of the Mirador Basin with an additional focus on multiple burials found in one elite Preclassic chultun and discusses possible alternative uses for these underground structures and their changes in use over time.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Society for American Archaeology 86th Annual Meeting, Online (2021)   •
• Recent Multidisciplinary Investigations in the Mirador Basin, Guatemala

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Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 33101