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134AMCS Bulletin 12 — Chapter 7Clearly, rockshelters were fully incorporated intoa generalized emic concept of cave—even in a regionwhere deeper and darker caves exist. The inclusion ofrockshelters into the classification of caves rests notonly on the similarities between their material remainsand those of other cave sites, but also on the recognitionof physical similarities between rockshelters andcaves. In addition to their shared trait as openings inthe earth’s surface, both rockshelters and caves containnatural phenomena, particularly speleothems,which do not exist elsewhere in the natural world. Inother words, rockshelters were perceived as havingmore in common with caves than with other naturalfeatures. Furthermore, my data suggest that the ancientMaya did not rely solely upon such traits as darkness,complete enclosure, and remoteness in their appropriationof underground spaces. However, the naturallyextroverted configuration of rockshelters, their smallersize, and their lack of water may have resulted in amore non-elite type of ritual use.By certain measures, a rockshelter like Actun Maasand a collapse dome like Actun Toh represent oppositeends of a morphological cave continuum in theYalahau region. The shape of a cave and the way inwhich it presents itself to the surface are highly variable.Rather than attempt to quantitatively classify ordefine caves, it seems more reasonable to apply ananthropocentric approach to our evaluation of undergroundspaces. In doing so, we can appreciate thecomplex nature of human interaction with these environments.Be that as it may, the sacredness of a cave was notnecessarily determined by its size. The narrow, artificialcaves at Utatlan in highland Guatemala (Brady1991; Brady and Veni 1992) and the shallow Dzibichenin eastern Yucatán (Stone 1995:74–86) attest to thisfact and are considered to be sacred places today. Themassive volume of enclosed space characteristic of anumber of caves in the Yalahau region may have indeedbeen a factor in their selection for a particulartype of elaboration, but this does not exclude smallercaves from intensive ceremonial use. For example: theshallowest, brightest, driest rock shelter and the deepest,darkest, wettest cavern both share powerful ideologicalassociations regardless of their disparatephysiographical characteristics. First and foremost,both function as “entry points” into the subsurfaceworld (Brady 1997a:603). It has been demonstratedthat even human-made caves (found in both karsticand non-karstic regions) belonged to this sacred realm(Brady and Veni 1992; see also Barba P. et al. 1990;Heyden 1975, 1981).Water CollectionCave ResourcesIn addition to a cave’s dimensional and locationalattributes, the presence of extractable resources wasno doubt a factor in both its selection and the natureand degree of its utilization. Paramount among thesematerial criteria was water. The relative abundance ofsurface water in the Yalahau region notwithstanding,the preoccupation with this scarce resource among theMaya of Yucatán and northern Quintana Roo has leftan indelible mark on secular and religious traditionover the course of generations and across the peninsula.The wealth of ethnohistorical and ethnographicevidence that attests to the ubiquity and importanceof the cave-dwelling Yucatec rain deities (Chaaks) andcave-related fertility ceremonies need not be reviewedhere. There is little doubt, however, that the enduringprominence of Chaak in the northern lowlands is likelya result of regional geographic and climatic conditions.Since caves in general are strongly associated withrain and fertility (see Brady 1989:42–53), and the preciousnessof water is so heavily emphasized in thenorthern lowlands, then clearly one would expect thereto be a special relationship with those caves that containwater.The signs of human activity present in each of thewater-bearing caves in the survey suggest that poolswere a major focus of attention. The spatial relationshipsbetween cultural features and pools are discussedin the following section. The physical dimensions ofpools do not appear to have been an important concernto the ancient Maya and there does not seem tobe a correlation between pool size and degree of culturalactivity. Even among the modern Maya of theYalahau region, a cave need only provide access tothe water table (via the smallest of pools) in order tobe classified as a ch’en or ts’onot and to receive thespecial attention befitting a watery place.Simply the presence of water in a cave was important,as well as the process of its extraction. In additionto leaving behind offerings and rock art, whichmarked wet caves as sacred spaces, the ancient Mayaof the Yalahau were involved in activities that ensuredthe continued availability of cave water. Surroundingthe small pool in Actun Toh is a mound of debris thatrepresents successive pool-maintenance episodes. Asrainwater would wash into this portion of the caveduring heavy storms, the pool would become fouledwith rocks and soil. The Maya would then excavatethe material (which included pottery sherds) and stackit around the periphery of the small chamber. This