Year: 2024
Type: article
Abstract: This article reports on a sacbe discovered by the Gran Aquífero Maya in the cave/cenote of Xbis, Hoctún, Yucatán, Mexico. The sacbe is the first reported example of a ritual roadway constructed in a Maya cave. The current study details how the construction incorporated elements of the natural cavescape to create Xbis as a significant sacred landmark. The sacbe led to a large pool of water and was constructed into the pool, allowing passage to a large speleothem column without entering the water. Ethnographic data suggests that such cave formations may have been the physical representation of a deity and were the focus of ritual. In addition, water droplets falling from thousands of active stalactites created the effect that it is always raining in the cave. It is proposed that the cave was appropriated and elaborated by elites for ritual because it proclaimed their control over the forces of nature.
Source: Archaeological Discovery
Authors: James E. Brady, Guillermo de Anda
Institution: California State University Los Angeles
Language: English
Subfield: Archeology
Field: Arts and Humanities
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: diamond
OpenAlex ID: W4392606300