Water, centering, and the beginning of time at Middle Preclassic Nixtun-Ch'ich', Petén, Guatemala

Abstract

What determines a site’s location? In the ceremonial core of the lowland Maya site of Nixtun-Ch'ich', Guatemala, a large depression lies east of an E-Group (quasi-solar-“observatory”) architectural complex. Excavations in this depression (Fosa Y) revealed a large, deep—and thus far bottomless—cavity in the limestone filled with water-deposited sediments containing Terminal Early and Middle Preclassic (∼1000–400BCE) pottery and other remains. The upper periphery of Fosa Y was lined with amphitheater-like stone terraces, which framed a rich late Middle Preclassic ritual midden. Interpretations of the role of Fosa Y and adjacent constructions relate to deep structures of Mesoamerican belief systems, from Olmec to Aztec, concerning water, mountains, solar stations, the Underworld, and Creation. Fosa Y was likely a natural sinkhole (cenote), rather than human-made, and thus a powerful and deeply symbolic feature of the terrain for the earliest settlers and a compelling setting for integrative community rituals. It centered the east-west axis of this unusual, gridded, early city and its sacred landscape.