A Season after Covid: Investigating Las Monjas Sascabera 2

Summary

This is an abstract from the "The Subterranean in Mesoamerican Cultural Landscapes" session, at the 88th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology.

In June 2022, the Gran Acuífero Maya resumed investigations initiated in 2018 of Las Monjas Sascabera 2 (LMS2), one of 11 sascaberas located south and west of the Las Monjas complex at Chichén Itzá. In the intervening years, rain washed out accumulated soil that had blocked access to the circular, constructed entrance and exposed several previously unexplored passages, thus increasing the size and complexity of the feature. A surface survey recorded 376 ceramic sherds including a portion of an Early Classic jar, suggesting the chamber had a long use-life. Several artifacts were noted including a figurine that appears inconsistent with a mining function. Our results underscore the inefficiency of removing an enormous quantity of sascab through the small circular entrance. It appears inescapable that the Maya were prioritizing the creation of subterranean space over extractive efficiency.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• The Subterranean in Mesoamerican Cultural Landscapes   •
• Society for American Archaeology 88th Annual Meeting, Portland, OR (2023)

Keywords

Spatial Coverage

Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 36363.0