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AMCS Bulletin 12 — Chapter 4 37CHAPTER 4CAVES OF THE YALAHAU ARCHAEOLOGICAL CAVE SURVEYIntroductionThis chapter of the dissertation is divided intotwenty sections—one for each cave in the survey. Asmentioned in Chapter 1, not all caves received the samedegree of archaeological attention during the courseof the study. Consequently, certain sections are quitedetailed while others offer only cursory descriptions.Those ten caves included in the sub-sample (see Chapter1) were given the most attention both in the fieldand in this chapter. The cursory nature of a few of thecave descriptions is not necessarily reflectiveof their relative archaeological importancewithin the region. Nevertheless, theobvious importance of caves such as ActunToh, Actun Tacbi Ha, and Pak Ch’en wasa factor in my decision to devote more timeand effort to their investigation.Although the order in which the cavesappear in this chapter is essentially arbitrary,those caves with pools are presentedfirst, followed by dry caves and rockshelters.The more detailed sections aredivided into sub-sections. Depending onthe cave, the presentation of the data mightinclude a general description of the cave,lot and/or operation descriptions, as wellas descriptions of rock art and other features.Tabulations of the ceramics recovered fromcertain caves appear in this chapter; however,their illustrations and typologicaldescriptions are found in Chapter 5. A moreinterpretive treatment of the archaeologydescribed in Chapter 4 is offered in the finalsynthesis and discussion of the dissertation.map was made and extensive surface collecting wascarried out, resulting in an abundant and diverse ceramicassemblage. In addition, test excavations wereconducted, which provide both functional and chronologicalinformation on the cave and its features.DescriptionThe vertical entrance shaft of Actun Toh is typicalof many of the region’s caves. Once past the 3 mof cap rock, the shaft opens into a voluminous chamber,4.1: ACTUN TOHActun Toh (“cave of the mot mot bird”)is located 1 km north of the community ofSan Juan de Dios. As the largest and mostelaborately modified cave in the survey, ithas received a great deal of attention duringthe course of this study. A detailed caveFigure 4.1.1. Actun Toh plan map.