The Liminal Space Between Two Plazas: Insights into Ancient Maya Ritualistic Cave Activities at Las Pacayas

Summary

This is an abstract from the "Multidisciplinary Approaches to the Subterranean" session, at the 89th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology.

The Cueva de los Quetzales was initially reported in 1991 by the Petexbatun Regional Cave Survey and more intensively investigated in 1993 in conjunction with the Altas Arquqológico de Guatemala’s excavation of the surface site of Las Pacayas. The site is located 12 km south of Dos Pilas and 7.5 km east of Aguateca. The cave is noteworthy in running through the highly modified hill on which Las Pacayas was built and has an opening in the ceiling that was positioned on the boundary where the two principal plazas meet. Offerings dropped through the opening formed a conical mound 3-5 m deep in the chamber below. J. Eric Thompson calls attention to such large ritual cave deposits in his 1959 article "The Role of Caves in Maya Culture." Excavations within the mound left no doubt about its ritual nature in producing over 300 fragments of ceramic drums, portions of 43 ocarinas and flutes, and a human skeletal assemblage among the artifactual material dating from the Late Preclassic to the Late Classic. This paper provides the first analysis that relates the osteological component to this very specialized ritual context.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Multidisciplinary Approaches to the Subterranean   •
• Society for American Archaeology 89th Annual Meeting, New Orleans, LA (2024)

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Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 39682.0