Myth, Ritual, and the Classic Maya Sweat Bath

Summary

This is an abstract from the "Heat, Steam, and Health: The Archaeology of the Mesoamerican Pib Naah (Sweat Baths)" session, at the 88th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology.

Sweat baths have been used in Mesoamerica for more than a millennium for humoral medicine, childbirth, and obstetrics, not to mention rituals related to death, birth, and rebirth. During this long period of time, they have held a relatively constant place in mythology; they are ancestral grandmothers who generate and destroy a living population. While this is attested among contemporary, modern, and historic Maya communities, the myths and ritual uses remain less known for the Classic Maya period. The discovery of a unique sweat bath at Xultun, Guatemala, offers new insights into the religious associations of these structures, including their ritual use and associated deities.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Heat, Steam, and Health: The Archaeology of the Mesoamerican Pib Naah (Sweat Baths)   •
• Society for American Archaeology 88th Annual Meeting, Portland, OR (2023)

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Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 37425.0