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egion are (or were) rich in speleothems. Certainrockshelters, such as Actun Maas, would not have beenfavored speleothem gathering sites and no stalactitesor stalagmites (or even evidence of their former presence)were observed in Actun Pech.MiningAMCS Bulletin 12 — Chapter 7 137An additional extractive activity, which has beenidentified at two caves in the Yalahau region, is mining.This activity is currently the topic of a more in-depthstudy; however, the preliminary assessment of the cavemines is noteworthy. Three mining areas were identifiedin Actun Toh—each reached by a clearly markedpath. The largest of these is an enclosed room, whichis separated from the main chamber by a low passage.Visible in the walls of the room are interbedded strataof poorly-lithified dolomite and more resistant limestonelayers. The soft, white dolomitic powder waseasily mined and removed while the subsequently protrudinglimestone shelves were broken-off and piledalong the sides of the room’s entrance path. Pits in thefloor suggest that the room’s expansion was verticalas well as horizontal. It appears as if the room itself(measuring roughly 4 m in diameter and 2 m high)was artificially created by this process. If so, as muchas seventeen cubic meters of material was removed.While it appears that a considerable proportion ofthe cavities created by mining activities in Actun Tohare ancient, evidence of more recent mining is clear.Visible on the walls of the largest mining pit are theunmistakable scars of a modern steel pick. When Iconsulted with my local guide on the matter, he wasunable to offer an explanation but simply confirmedthe obvious: that if the material was mined and removedfor use as sascab, the miner would have savedhimself trouble and effort by simply making use ofone of the many nearby sacaberas at the surface. TheFigure 7.6. Stalactite from shrine at El Naranjal.Figure 7.7. Xca’ca’ Ch’en. Simple carved face.guide’s reaction is equally telling of what an impracticaland economically inefficient source for sascabthe cave might have been in antiquity. A yet to be revealedceremonial use seems a more likely explanationand perhaps such a line of inquiry might be pursuedin future research.By examining activities such as speleothem removal,mining, or water collection from an intra-regionalperspective, it becomes clear that the ancient Mayaventured into different caves for a variety of reasons.Just as the region’s ancient inhabitants were aware ofunique ecological zones (i.e. areas of deep or fertilesoil, natural bajos, well-drained uplands etc.), theywere likely knowledgeable of the individual physicalcharacteristics of each cave. To some degree, each cave(as a natural entity) represented a unique place, whichboth intersected and aligned with the system of meaningsthrust upon it by the ancient Maya.Spatial Organization of the Cave EnvironmentI have discussed the importance of pools in cavesand have introduced their association with subsurfacearchitectural constructions in the Yalahau region, yetwe have not fully explored the patterned spatial relationshipsbetween natural and cultural features incaves. In all of the water-bearing caves in the survey,the pools appear to have structured the nature of humanactivity between the entrance and the pool itself.Furthermore, the natural layout of caves has directedor channeled human interaction with cave space. Thispattern is then reinforced by cultural modifications tocave environments.If one descends into Actun Toh, a stairway guidesthe individual down the pyramidal structure and intoan enclosed natural room (from which there is a singleexit). A continuing series of short stairways and landingsguides the visitor beneath a panel of carved facesand ultimately arrives at the pool. An identical arrangementwas observed in Xca’ca’ Ch’en, which is an