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64AMCS Bulletin 12 — Chapter 4was manipulated and enhanced using a powerful butdiffused flash set at an oblique angle. The photographswere later traced using the stipple technique.Panel A (figure 4.5.4)The Rock ArtThe first image encountered along the pathwayto the pool has been designated as panel A. This anthropomorphicfigure is 60 cm in height and 37 cmwide (from hand to hand). The entire body of the figureis depicted, including a scroll-like element thatappears to be a headdress. The arms, with three-fingeredhands, are raised and the legs spread apart. Two linesappear to run roughly parallel to the legs and mightrepresent an article of clothing or an attempt to givewidth to the legs. On the inside of the bodice of thefigure is a smaller face.Panel B (figure 4.5.5)This panel consists of several petroglyphs. Themost prominent is a carefully engraved face in thecenter of the panel. This figure appears to exhibit bothChaak- and Tlaloc-like features, which Taube describesas a common Late Postclassic development inrain god imagery (1992:133–136). Examples of similarfigures with fanged maws and non-goggled eyeswere found at Santa Rita and Mayflower, Belize(Taube 1992; see figure 4.5.6). Atop the head of thisfigure is a group of elements that might represent aheaddress, within which appears to be a tiny face.Directly below the rain-god face, is a crude stone altar.The altar consists of a broad, flat stone restingatop a stack of smaller stones, and is located betweenthe path and the cave wall (see map in figure 4.5.1).Surrounding the possible rain-god figure, are atleast nine distinct vulva motifs. The depiction of thefemale pubic area in this fashion is quite common inMesoamerica —particularly in cave contexts. Severalof these upside-down triangles with vertical slits havebeen recorded in caves throughout the Maya area (seeStone 1995:75–86; see also Velázquez Morlet et al.1988:82). Strecker (1987) elaborates on such sexualimagery and includes examples from Chiapas as wellas Yucatán. Vulva motifs were also found atChacatzingo, Morelos (Apostolides 1987:175–177).Anthropomorphic figures with upside-down “U” vulvamotifs between their legs, are present in Loltún cave(see Velázquez Morlet et al. 1988:82) and Dzibichen(Velázquez Morlet et al. 1988:82, 92; Stone 1995:78).Actun Kaua, also in Yucatán, contains one such figure aswell (Sayther et al. 1998: fig. 14). Of particular interestis the association between these sexual motifs andrain god imagery, which I will discuss below.The general morphology or layout of Dzibichenis quite similar to Pak Ch’en— including the presenceof a stairway, and small pool, and a series ofdrawings (Stone 1995:74–86). The rock art panel inDzibichen (see figure 4.5.8) contains, among otherimages, vulva motifs and a codex-style depiction ofthe Yucatecan rain god Chaak (Stone 1995:77). Onesuch depiction of Chaak was also identified in LaCueva de Tixcuytún (Barrera Rubio and Peraza Lope1999: photograph 15). In Dzibichen, Stone (1995)points out the figure’s close association with lightningserpents, also drawn on the cave wall. Ratherthan serpents, vulva motifs surround the rain god figurein panel B of Pak Ch’en, yet an equally powerfulstatement of water and fertility appears to have beenmade by the cave artists. The chronological implicationsof this scene will be discussed below, but as afinal note, Stone (personal communication 1999)brought another interesting similarity to my attention.A few faces in Dzibichen (figure 4.5.7), one of whichStone notes as bearing a resemblance to “lord of thek’atun” (1995:81), possess a brow and nose createdby a continuous line. This characteristic, which shedescribes as Colonial in age, is also present on therain god image in Pak Ch’en.Panel C (figure 4.5.9)This panel consists of four distinct faces and atleast three vulva motifs. Other geometric and curvilinearelements, in various states of preservation, arepresent as well. The face on the right-hand side of thepanel is the most prominent. The elements projectingfrom its head might represent a headdress. The scolllikeelements at the sides of the face could be part ofthis headdress or might represent ear flares. A somewhatsimilar face (figure 4.5.10) was recorded by E.H. Thompson in Loltun Cave (1897: fig. 8). As anaside, it is interesting to note the similarity betweenthe snake-like figure below the face in Loltun (Thompson1897), and the image in the upper left-hand cornerof a rock art panel in Cueva Xcosmil (Strecker1985: fig. 10), which is shown in figure 4.5.14.A second trapezoidal face is located down and tothe left. Towards the far right of the panel are twosmaller faces. The two deeply pecked dots and a horizontalline above the first face might be the orbits andmouth of a crude face, or perhaps the bar and dot numericalequivalent of seven. A similar, asymmetricalface may be present to the lower left.