searchable PDF - Association for Mexican Cave Studies

AMCS Bulletin 12 — Chapter 4 71Table 4.5.1. Pak Ch’en ceramic collection.the use of the Megalithic style of architecture atKantunilkin, which is associated with the LatePreclassic to Early Classic periods, is considered byMathews (1998).As is often the case with rock art, many of theimages in Pak Ch’en are difficult to date and couldhave been engraved into the cave walls at nearly anytime in the past. However, the presence of the raingod figure in panel B and the depiction of God C inpanel G-1, suggests that at least a portion of the rockart was not executed before the Late Postclassic, orpossibly Colonial, period. Perhaps even the vulva motifsin panel B are coeval with the image they appear toframe. The late nature of the rock art is interestingsince no Postclassic material was recovered. Rather,the pottery attests to a strong early component in thecave’s use history. Perhaps the cave functioned as animportant and sacred water collection site during thePreclassic to Early Classic periods (hence the correspondingvessels). The codex-style imagery in the cavecould mark a Late Postclassic reoccupation in theregion, or be the result of occasional pilgrimage activities.Closing RemarksThe impressive corpus of rock art in Pak Ch’enprovides insights into the nature of cave use in theYalahau region as well as the idiosyncratic, multivariant,yet highly patterned nature of Maya cave artin general. It is important to note that many of theassociations drawn between images in Pak Ch’en, andtheir comparisons with images from other caves mightbe more imagined than real. This is especially likelywith the simple faces and geometric elements whosesimilarities might be more or less coincidental and notindicative of a specific set of ideas. Nevertheless, theirpositioning designates the path to the pool as a rituallyprescribed route.The majority of rock art in the Maya area (and thenorthern lowlands in particular) can be described asvernacular in nature (see Stone 1997). Of course, evidenceof elite activity has been reported in a numberof caves with rock art (Stone 1997; see also Stone1989b, 1995). Though not highly sophisticated, a portionof the imagery in Pak Ch’en exhibits qualities thatsuggest the work of artists who were at least somewhatliterate in the iconography of the elite. The associationsbetween the images, the constructed pathway,and the pool suggest that the cave was a spatially orderedand sacred watery place. The sexual nature ofcaves was a pervasive theme in the Maya area (seeBrady 1988) and the presence and arrangement ofnatural and cultural elements in Pak Ch’en allude tothese concepts of fertility. This topic will be exploredfurther in the final chapter of the dissertation.4.6: CAVE SJ-1 (UNNAMED)Cave SJ-1 is located approximately 3 km north ofthe community of San Juan de Dios and approximately4 km southwest of the community/site of San Cosme.The cave was initially visited by Karl Taube in 1984,and at his suggestion I inquired about the cave duringmy later work in San Juan de Dios. During my regionalreconnaissance 1995, I made a brief trip to thecave along with two local guides. I had only time toexplore the cave and make a few cursory notes. I attemptedto return in 1996, but was unable to secure aguide who was familiar with the cave’s exact location.The cave is roughly 15 m in diameter and is accessedthrough an extremely small hole in the ceiling.Beneath the entrance is a natural promontory or bedrockmound, which is encircled by a cleared pathwayleading down to a shallow pool. Ceramic sherds arescattered throughout the cave, but the heaviest concentrationlies near the entrance. In this area, Taubeobserved a conch fragment and a Late Classic polychromerim sherd (personal communication 2001).Also present is a low wall located at the top of themound. The pool, which measures approximately 5 m