searchable PDF - Association for Mexican Cave Studies

AMCS Bulletin 12 — Chapter 1 17CHAPTER 1INTRODUCTIONThe hope of solving this important question by means of evidence easilyaccessible, but hitherto neglected, and the many chances of a hunt in thesubterranean twilight, preoccupied our thoughts as, suddenly equipping anexpedition, we packed up our provisions, tents, medicines, and instruments,and set out for Yucatan.Henry C. Mercer, The Hill-Caves of Yucatan (1896:15)Much to his chagrin, Mercer’s “important question”regarding the presence of Paleolithic depositsinterred within the caves of Yucatán was resoundinglyanswered in the negative. Instead he revealed evidenceof a rich tradition imbedded in a complex system ofmeanings that he was neither prepared to comprehendnor inclined to ponder. His investigations were anearly, fortuitous step into the rapidly developing fieldof Maya cave archaeology.More recent studies demonstrate that among theancient Maya, caves were associated with the conceptsof creation, fertility, and the underworld (Bassie-Sweet 1991, 1996; Brady 1998; MacLeod and Puleston1978; Stone 1995). In fact, the cave as a place of emergenceis a pan-Mesoamerican theme (Heyden 1975,1981; Taube 1986; see also Manzanilla 2000). Caveswere an integral part of the Maya sacred landscape(Brady 1997a; Brady and Ashmore 1999; Brady andBonor Villarejo 1993; Stone 1995) and served as stagingareas for ritual activities (Andrews 1970; BonorVillarejo 1989a; Brady 1989; Pohl and Pohl 1983;Stone 1989; Thompson 1959, 1975). A number of ethnographicworks remark on not only the deliberateinclusion of caves and cenotes into the organization andformation of community space and identity, but alsothe continued sanctification of these subterranean andwatery places (Redfield and Villa Rojas 1934; Roys1935; Villa Rojas 1947; Vogt 1976, 1981; see alsoHolland 1963:27; García-Zambrano 1994).Caves containing pools of water represented especiallysacred environments to the ancient Maya(Brady and Stone 1986:22) and the collection of suhuyha’ (or “virgin water”) from caves is thought to havebeen a common practice (see Thompson 1975). Nevertheless,the treatment of caves and cenotes in theYucatecan literature has drawn attention away fromthe special nature of cave water and the significanceof its sacred underground context. In Yucatán andnortheastern Campeche, the cave/cenote was the primarysource of water for some communities and thelast resort for others. Either way, the daily need forthis precious resource left residents of the region withlittle choice than to follow any and all conduits to thewater table.Our general characterization of the natural environmentof the northern Maya Lowlands suggests thatthis relationship between the Maya and caves shouldhold true across the peninsula. However, not all areasuniformly lack a range of readily available watersources. Such is the case in northernmost inlandQuintana Roo. This zone of wetlands and low, forestedhills is known as the Yalahau region (see figures1.1 and 1.2). In addition to sizable bodies of surfacewater, numerous cenotes and natural wells (or microcenotes)are found throughout this unique and largelyunstudied region (see Chapter 2 for a more in-depthexplanation). If caves were present within this waterrichregion, would they too function as primary orexigent sources of water?Due in part to the region’s inaccessibility and relativelylow elevation, it has not been an attractive targetfor scholarly cave exploration. A rather ambitious,peninsula-wide survey of caves by James Reddell(1977) provides barely a glimpse beneath the surfaceof the Yalahau and is essentially limited to a single,previously reported and presumably non-archaeologicalcave near the community of Nuevo Xcan (1977:249).Similarly, the valuable atlas of Maya caves assembledby Juan Luis Bonor Villarejo (1989a) does not listany caves for the inland area of Quintana Roo northof Cobá. The closest well-known cave site is the Grutade Xcan, which is located along the western boundaryof the Yalahau region in Yucatán (BenavidesCastillo 1983; Márquez de González et al. 1982). It is