Ritual cave use among the ancient Maya

AbstractData collected from aerial lidar scanning provides new opportunities for archaeological survey. It is now possible, in a short period of time, to collect vast amounts of geographic data that would have taken years of pedestrian survey to acquire. This enhances and extends landscape studies by reducing time-frames and cost, encouraging analyses based on real-world data collection on a regional scale. This paper describes an approach for modeling the ritual landscape surrounding the ancient Maya center of Las Cuevas, Belize by analyzing the spatial aspects of ritual cave use. Using lidar-derived data, we describe a method for locating potential cave sites using Local Relief Models, which requires only a working knowledge of relief visualization techniques and no specialized skills in computer programming. Our method located the five known cave sites within our 222 km2 lidar study area—including one with a fissure entrance. We plan to ground-truth potentialities to develop models of the ritual landscape that can be visualized and analyzed. By researching cave use on a regional scale and defining the relationships between caves and surface features, we advance cave studies by deepening our understanding of the ritual landscape and its articulation with ancient Maya socio/political dynamics.

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Antiquity ◽

10.1017/s0003598x00093388 ◽

2006 ◽

Vol 80 (307) ◽

pp. 204-209

Author(s):

Norman Hammond

Keyword(s):

Research Library ◽

University Of Pennsylvania ◽

Ancient Maya ◽

University Of Texas ◽

New Approaches ◽

Piedras Negras ◽

The Earth ◽

Cave Use

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The Ancient Maya Drought Cult: Late Classic Cave Use in Belize

Latin American Antiquity ◽

10.1017/s1045663500002571 ◽

2009 ◽

Vol 20 (1) ◽

pp. 175-206 ◽

Cited By ~ 35

Author(s):

Holley Moyes ◽

Jaime J. Awe ◽

George A. Brook ◽

James W. Webster

Keyword(s):

Ritual Practice ◽

Ancient Maya ◽

Political Systems ◽

High Definition ◽

Late Classic ◽

Postclassic Period ◽

Time Work ◽

Cave Use ◽

Collapse Theories

AbstractCaves were used as ritual venues by the ancient Maya from the Early Preclassic to the Postclassic period. These sites have been intensively investigated, but little research has been devoted to changes in cave use over time. Work at Chechem Ha Cave in western Belize investigates transformations in ritual practice occurring between the Early and Late Classic periods using an explanatory framework that incorporates high-definition archaeological research with a paleoclimate reconstruction derived from speleothems. This is one of the first projects to directly link these data to the archaeological record. We also introduce new methodology to evaluate changes in ritual practice using use-intensity proxies and artifact patterning. These data demonstrate that Late Classic transformations were coeval with climatic drying. The phenomenon was identified in this case study, and the pattern is prevalent throughout the eastern lowlands suggesting that an ancient Maya drought cult was initiated at this time. We provide the first evidence that there was a failed ritual response to environmental stress, implying that a loss of faith in Maya rulership contributed to the downfall of political systems. This is an important finding for collapse theories that include ideological causations.

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