Abstract
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.
Highlights
The function of chultuns, man-made subterranean chambers, in the southern Maya lowlands has been debated since the early years of the twentieth century [1] and by mid-century a host of functions had been discussed [2]
Puleston placed a number of different food items in the chultun but the 100% humidity caused the food stuffs to rot within weeks
Modern Lacandon Maya brew balché for personal use in a wooden boat or basin kept in the “god house” which was proposed as being analogous to a chultun
Summary
The function of chultuns, man-made subterranean chambers, in the southern Maya lowlands has been debated since the early years of the twentieth century [1] and by mid-century a host of functions had been discussed [2]. Cave archaeology has a theoretical bias toward ritual explanations because it acknowledges the fact that one cannot dig a hole in the Earth without it becoming a sacred cave To bring this point home to archaeologists, Ann Scott [14] recorded a Kaqchikel Maya cave ritual at Tikal that was conducted at the entrance to an archaeologist’s tunnel in one of the mounds. 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]. Ricketson and Ricketson [24] note that: during the house-mound survey a series of ten chultun-like openings, obviously artificial, was found extending in a curve through squares 7000 and 8000 NW (Figure 2) These openings were just large enough to admit a small man. Spider Cave is interesting in that the artificial entrance presents yet another instance of a morphological characteristic used to define chultuns being shared with other subterranean features
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