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34AMCS Bulletin 12 — Chapter 3see Brady 1997a). An additional example of the relationshipbetween site architecture and caves is foundat Muyil, south of Tulum. Here, Witschey (1993:91)mapped a cave containing evidence of ancient modification,which passes beneath Temple 8 at the site.The island of Cozumel, with its inseparable economicand religious ties to the mainland, should beincluded in this review as well. Though little in theway of cave archaeology has been conducted on theisland, Sierra Sosa (1994:80) provides a brief but detaileddescription of three caves at the site of SanGervasio. Equally intriguing are references to cavesshrines by Friedel and Sabloff (1984:71, 173, 176).Several of the cave/cenotes on Cozumel are closelyassociated with surface architecture, including onedescribed in an obscure reference by Mason(1927:278). The same structure and its associated cenoteare also reported by Sanders (1955:191–192).Andrews and Andrews (1975:60) briefly mention acave shrine at San Francisco. Andrews and Corletta(1995:105) describe a cenote on Cozumel, from whichseveral artifacts were recovered (see also LunaErreguerena 1989:150). For a map showing the locationsof cenotes on Cozumel, see Sabloff and Rathje(1975:fig. 6). Additional brief references to at leastthree cenotes on the island are found in Muller(1959:29, 49). Incidentally, Muller (1959:28, 67) liststwo cave/cenote sites on Isla Mujeres as well. Despiteits role as an extraordinarily important pilgrimage center,the island of Cozumel has received little attentionin the way of cave research. This is made all the moresurprising by the fact the caves were no doubt keyloci of ritual activity along this sacred circuit.Inland and just south of Xcaret, is Aktun Na Kan.This cave, which was reported by Leira Guillermo andTerrones González (1986), contains a miniature templeconstructed in the Postclassic East Coast style. Thoughthis cave does not contain a pool, it is quite similar tothose described by Andrews and Andrews above. Thestructure, which uses the ceiling of the cave as its roof,is beautifully preserved. A serpent molding adorns thefaçade and areas of blue painted stucco are visible onthe walls. Facing the shrine, is a reptile-like stuccosculpture.The grotto at Xelha lagoon is also described byAndrews and Andrews (1975:93; see also Andrewsand Corletta 1995:106). A team of divers first exploredthe cave in 1960 (Bush Romero 1961; 1964). The interiorof the grotto is reached via the inlet or througha shaft in the ceiling. Inside, the divers found a plasteredaltar or platform, which rests on a rocky outcropsurrounded by sea water. A number of artifacts wererecovered from the grotto, including two jade celts(Bush Romero 1961; 1964). Navarrete (1974) laterrevisited the cave and conducted an analysis of theceramics.The cenote at Tancah, just north of Tulum, is perhapsthe best known cave and rock art site in QuintanaRoo. First reported by Lothrop in 1924, the cave isnoted for the glyph-like elements inscribed into therisers of a carved stairway. This stairway descends anatural ledge and faces the water within this cave-likecenote. Lothrop provides two photographs of the images(1924:fig. 131, A and B), which are not very clear.He also describes a “crude stone idol,” resting atop aleveled and partly built-up ledge, as well as a smallplastered pyramidal altar (1924:132). Drawings of therock art were first produced by Robina (1956), wholater visited the cave.Miller (1982:87–89) offers his interpretation of theimages at Tancah Cave, and their setting. Though Iwould argue that the intelligibility of the inscriptionsis highly speculative, Miller describes the cooccuranceof the celestial and calendrical Lamat glyphand 1 Ahau. He suggests that they signify Venus risingout of the darkness, which is symbolically representedby the dark water of the cenote. He goes on to proposethat this particular cave was selected because ofits east-west orientation, among other natural characteristics.Houston (1998:360) suggests that carvedsteps, such as those found in Tancah Cave, played arole in the ritualized channeling of water. Miller alsodescribes a censer fragment recovered from the cave(1982:73, fig. 111) and a whole water jar found duringunderwater excavations (1982:78, fig. 114).A number of other coastal region sources, not necessarilyspecific to Maya cave archaeology, bear mentioninghere. In Reddell’s book on the cave biota ofthe Yucatán Peninsula (1977), he describes five additionalcaves located along the coast—including thetiny cenote at Tulum. Though archaeological evidencemay very well exist in these caves, it was not reported.The same cenote and its associated building at the siteof Tulum was first reported by Lothrop (1924:109–111)and later described by Santillán et al. (1992). The presenceof caves in the pueblo of Tulum is included inBonor Villarejo’s book (1989a) as a personal communicationfrom Ricardo Velázquez Valadez. During asettlement survey south of the civic-ceremonial precinctof Tulum, Velázquez Valadez (1985) plotted threecaves on the site map and briefly mentions their presencein Group A (p28). In a settlement survey at Playadel Carmen, by Silva Rhoads and Hernández (1991),the frequency of caves in the area is alluded to inthe report (p. 33). Their survey maps (1991:87–269)reveal the locations of literally dozens of caves and