Man‐made and pseudo‐karst caves: The implications of subsurface features within Maya centers

Brady, James E.; Veni, George

doi:10.1002/gea.3340070205

Cited by 31 publications

(15 citation statements)

References 5 publications

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“…From the Guatemalan highlands, Brady and Veni (1992) have documented Mayan examples of "man-made caves" excavated into volcanic or volcanically derived rocks. Some of these are associated with sites of ritual importance and with intermittent springs.…”

Section: E S T E Smentioning

confidence: 99%

Dating Results From Excavations in Quarry Tunnels Behind the Pyramid of the Sun at Teotihuacan

1996

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In this article we summarize the results of an ongoing project designed to study the tunnels and caves of Teotihuacan, emphasizing those findings derived from the excavation of four extraction tunnels located immediately to the east of the Pyramid of the Sun. In particular, we present radiocarbon and obsidian-hydration dates from the Cueva de las Varillas, where 13 Mazapan-phase burials were found and which has substantial evidence for a post-Teotihuacan occupation. In addition, the Cueva del Pirul has produced evidence of another 14 human burials, which were predominantly children, as well as complete dog skeletons, in a context clearly related to underworld symbolism. After the fall of Teotihuacan, these underground cavities excavated into tezontle continued to provide space for the practitioners of Tlaloc and fertility cult activities. In Aztec times, they were living spaces, and given the lack of space on the surface, this was a function that they served well into the twentieth century.

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Section: E S T E Smentioning

confidence: 99%

Dating Results From Excavations in Quarry Tunnels Behind the Pyramid of the Sun at Teotihuacan

1996

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“…Cave archaeology sees chultuns as one of a number of morphologically similar subterranean features. Since they are artificial, chultuns are most closely related to man-made caves documented in the highlands of Guatemala [15,16]. The documentation of man-made caves did not immediately give rise to the reevaluation of chultuns because of the large size of the former.…”

Section: Natural Caves Man-made Caves and Chultunsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Maya Cultural Landscapes and the Subterranean: Assessing a Century of Chultun Research

Brady¹,

Layco²

2018

IJA

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The function of chultuns, man-made subterranean chambers, in the southern Maya lowlands has been debated for over a century, with food storage being the most widely accepted proposal. Experimental archaeology shows, however, that none of the major Maya subsistence crops can be stored in chultuns because of their high humidity. Maya archaeology is currently at an impasse, espousing a storage function that is refuted by the data. Cave archaeology, with its intimate knowledge of subterranean space, has a decidedly different view. Ethnohistorical sources and ethnography document the fact that holes, even those dug for mining, are seen by the Maya as being caves, so one should expect chultuns to have had a religious function. Furthermore, in actual practice, there is considerable overlap between chultuns and caves, with a number of chultuns being identified as natural caves exhibiting an artificial entrance carved into them. Additionally, a number of chultuns are large enough that they could be classified as man-made caves. Religious functions have been repeatedly overlooked because of archaeologists' insistence on a utilitarian function and further exacerbated by ignorance of Maya religion and ritual. It is shown that many chultuns have cosmological alignments, being placed along center lines or centered under structures or plazas. In proposing that chultuns functioned as sites of household ritual, considerable evidence is mustered to support an explanation that is more in accord with a realistic anthropological view of the Maya. The implications for sacred landscapes are profound in that thousands of sacred landmarks would be added to every site.

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“…Indeed James Brady and colleagues (39,40) have shown that many Maya cities were constructed on top of caves. But even more intriguing they have found cases where caves do not occur naturally, but the Maya dug an artificial cave below their city.…”

Section: The Beliefs That Bound Themmentioning

confidence: 99%

Peopling the past: New perspectives on the ancient Maya

Robin

2001

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.

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The new direction in Maya archaeology is toward achieving a greater understanding of people and their roles and their relations in the past. To answer emerging humanistic questions about ancient people's lives Mayanists are increasingly making use of new and existing scientific methods from archaeology and other disciplines. Maya archaeology is bridging the divide between the humanities and sciences to answer questions about ancient people previously considered beyond the realm of archaeological knowledge. Q uestions about time, space, and people form the core of the social sciences. Given the material and spatial nature of the archaeological record, archaeologists have always been at the forefront of research on time and space. Over the past century Maya archaeologists have developed a deep understanding of the duration and spatial extent of occupation in the Maya area [which extends at least as far back as the PaleoIndian period ca. 10,000 before Christ and includes what is now Guatemala, Belize, southern Mexico, western Honduras, and El Salvador; Fig. 1 (1-4)]. † The new direction in Maya archaeology, and archaeology in general, is toward a greater understanding of people in the past (5). The fundamental, but inanimate, questions of what, when, and where, are being complemented by animate questions of how, why, by whom, and with what meaning.This study of a peopled past brings to the interpretive foreground what we have always known: the disembodied materials that constitute the contemporary archaeological record are simply the remains of once active ancient landscapes. To answer humanistic questions about the lives of ancient people Maya archaeologists are increasingly making use of new and existing scientific methods to complement more conventional archaeological and art historical analyses. This multidisciplinary research bridges the divide between the humanities and sciences. It enables archaeologists to propose answers to questions previously considered beyond the realm of archaeological knowledgequestions about people's life cycles and life histories, and their perceptions of the world. Another significant breakthrough in the ability of archaeologists to understand ancient Maya people has been the decipherment of the Classic (anno Domini 250-900) Maya hieroglyphic writing system. Classic Maya rulers recorded versions of their life histories in hieroglyphic texts and images inscribed throughout their cities. These public narratives combined history, worldview, and personal and political goals, strategies, and agendas. They provide personalized glimpses into the lives of rulers and other elites. ‡ Finding Out About the PeopleAn example of the new multidisciplinary work in Maya archaeology comes from the Early Copán Acropolis Project, directed by Robert Sharer. Excavations in the civicceremonial heart of this ancient city in Honduras located the tomb of a male considered to be the dynastic founder, Yax K'uk' Mo'. Throughout world history-and Copán is no exception herekings have sought to legitimate their p...

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Man‐made and pseudo‐karst caves: The implications of subsurface features within Maya centers

Cited by 31 publications

References 5 publications

Dating Results From Excavations in Quarry Tunnels Behind the Pyramid of the Sun at Teotihuacan

Dating Results From Excavations in Quarry Tunnels Behind the Pyramid of the Sun at Teotihuacan

Maya Cultural Landscapes and the Subterranean: Assessing a Century of Chultun Research

Peopling the past: New perspectives on the ancient Maya

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