For You Lot Data - Maya Rituals Unearthed

Deep inward the untamed lowlands, nosotros search for artifacts buried nether hundreds of years of sediment. We are excavating 2 ancient Maya sites nestled inward the sacred landscape of Cara Blanca inward key Belize. Both engagement to A.D. 800-900, when prolonged as well as severe droughts struck this region, disrupting the daily life of the Maya.

The Valley of Peace Archaeology projection squad explore an ancient Maya site
in key Belize [Credit: Jeannie Larmon]

These 2 structures – a platform teetering on the border of a 60-meter-deep puddle as well as a sweatbath chemical compound – were role of a ritual pilgrimage circuit traversed past times the ancient Maya to pay tribute to the pelting god Chahk during the extended droughts.

Openings inward the public similar this puddle were idea to live portals to the underworld, places where deities as well as ancestors resided. In previous years studying this poolside platform, nosotros discovered a massive burning effect as well as thousands of ceramic sherds purposely placed on the plaster floor.

Ceramics collected inward the sweatbath chemical compound [Credit: Frank Nunez]

Burnings as well as offerings of this nature were a mutual usage amongst the ancient Maya. These were role of final result rituals, meant to "deanimate" objects or spaces as well as take away them from the life cycle. Everything was believed to comprise a life force, making deanimation a critical procedure for the Maya.

Our aim this yr is to garner a deeper agreement of this ritual space. We scrape away at the soil, trowel past times trowel, filling buckets as well as sifting each 1 to avoid missing whatever fleck of data. The deeper nosotros go, the harder it becomes to hoist the dirt out of this trench.

Pools similar this were sacred to the Maya, who considered them portals to the underworld
[Credit: Jeannie Larmon]

It isn't long before nosotros unexpectedly uncover around other platform. The ceramics at this layer seem to live from a much before fourth dimension catamenia – almost A.D. 600! This suggests the Maya were ritually engaging amongst the Cara Blanca landscape before the drought catamenia began – much before than nosotros anticipated.

This older, deeper platform has sparse floors as well as few walls. No human remains are buried here. This powerfulness reverberate a wetter, less socially trying time.

A ceremonial platform uncovered inward 2018 [Credit: Jesann Gonzalez Cruz]

As nosotros walk from the trench to a sweatbath chemical compound 10 minutes away, tiny pinkish petals fallen from flowering trees pigment the walkways. The sweatbath appears heavily looted; our destination is to preserve whatever information remains. But when nosotros offset to excavate, nosotros uncovering no looters' debris. We besides uncovering no large stones, which are ordinarily introduce inward a edifice collapse. This suggests the Maya dismantled this construction themselves during a final result ritual prior to their sum abandonment of the area.

As nosotros teach out the site, driving off-road for xx minutes downwardly a rocky ravine, nosotros ponder the importance of Cara Blanca to the ancient Maya. The intense endeavour they made to gear upward as well as dismiss these structures may reverberate only how dire their circumstances were inward the fourth dimension of the droughts.

Authors: Jesann Gonzalez Cruz And Jean T. Larmon | Source: University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign [August 15, 2018]


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