Explorations in the new branch of Naj
Tunich: Implications for interpretation
James E. Brady, George Veni, Andrea
Stone, and Allan Cobb
Introduction
During a photographic project conducted in
June 1988 by Dr Andrea Stone and funded by the
National Geographic Society, a major new branch was
discovered at the Maya cave site of Naj Tunich, Peten,
Guatemala (Fig. 1) by geologist George Veni. The
preliminary exploration and mapping by Veni
disclosed a series of interconnected passages, as well
as additional passageways lying beyond a deep pit
which he was unable to traverse at that time. Most
importantly, Veni noted the complete absence of
footprints in the soft powder on the floor of the
passages indicating that the area had not been recently
visited. In April of 1989, a second expedition, also
funded by the National Geographic Society, was
organized by the senior author to conduct a detailed
archaeological survey of the new passage and to
explore the area that Veni had been unable to reach the
previous year.
Fig. 1: Map of Central America showing the location
of Naj Tunich.
Naj Tunich, located in the Maya lowlands of
Peten, Guatemala, is one of the larger caves known in
Central America, with over three km of passages
mapped. The site can be divided into two areas, the
entrance and the tunnel system. The entrance is
approximately 150 m long and contains a natural rise in
the eastern portion of the chamber which was modified
by the Maya into a two-tiered balcony. This structure
represents the largest quantity of construction ever
reported for a Maya cave. Much of the balcony
receives at least small amounts of light from the
entrance while the tunnel system is completely dark.
The tunnel system, reached from the upper level of the
balcony, consists of a central passage which splits into
a western and a northern branch. The newly discovered
section is entered through either of two passages
located near the end of the northern branch, some six to
eight meters above its floor (Fig. 2).
Geology
Naj Tunich is formed in the Cretaceous Coban
Formation, a limestone that was brecciated and
recemented after its initial deposition. Overlying the
Coban is the Cojaj Formation, a Cretaceous suite of
silts, clays and marls. With the Tertiary age uplift of
the Maya Mountains, 40 km to the northeast, the
bedrock of the Naj Tunich area was uplifted and tilted
so that the Cojaj Formation was eroded off the Coban.
As the Coban' s limestone became exposed at
the surface, the process of karstification began whereby
sinkholes and caves developed to transmit water as
subsurface streams. Naj Tunich was one such stream
conduit and developed in three distinct stages: a
phreatic stage, a sulfate stage and the modern stage
(Veni 1989). During the phreatic stage that Naj
Tunich's main passages were formed. The passages
were completely filled with water and transmitted an
average 1.14 m3/sec of flow by the time they achieved
their present size (Veni 1990). Erosion of the land
surface resulted in a sudden drop in the area's water
table and the draining of water from the cave.
During the second stage, the surface above Naj
Tunich was still largely covered by the Cojaj
Formation which prevented the rapid movement of
surface water into the cave, but some water carried
sulfate ions from minerals within the Cojaj which were
deposited as sulfate mineral crusts on the now dry cave
walls. Gypsum was initially deposited and was later
dehydrated to bassanite or anhydrite.
Fig. 3: The chamber in Operation LX which contained
the second altar. (Photo by Andrea Stone)
In certain locations where the Cojaj had been
eroded, rapid sinkhole development ensued and
intersected the cave at the southern end forming an
entrance, and at the Silent Well at the northern end of
the cave. At the Silent Well the main passage filled
with sediment and flows tone to form two segments,
the northern branch of the main passage and the large
passage of Operation IX. Water entering Operation IX
could no longer drain towards the cave entrance so the
accumulating water created a series of overflow routes
resulting in the passages of Operation VIII. Eventually,
the deep pit series of Operation IX was created to drain
the water directly down to the water table (Veni n.d.).
The modem stage of Naj Tunich's development
is characterized by the complete removal of the Cojaj
Formation from above the cave. Sulfate minerals are no
longer being deposited on the cave walls, but are
slowly spalling off. It is on these surfaces that many of
the Maya paintings are found. Currently, water enters
and flows through Naj Tunich at only two limited
locations. Overall, the cave remains very dry. Removal
or disruption of the vegetation overlying the cave could
significantly increase the amount of water entering Naj
Tunich and could adversely impact its paintings and
other archaeological materials.
Archaeology
Before discussing the interpretation of the
material recovered from the expedition, it must be
emphasized that the Maya did not live in caves. It has
been noted in all areas of the world that when caves are
used for habitation, they tend to be either rock shelters
or the mouths of caves where there is light and fresh air
(Butzer 1971:204-14; Straus 1990:257). When the
"dark zone" of a cave is used, it is reserved in all
cultures as a place for religious ritual (Hole and Heizer
1965:372). Thus, the location of this new branch deep
within Naj Tunich clearly associates the artifacts found
there with a ceremonial function. While the presence of
altars should make this obvious, the point is so often
overlooked that it bears repeating once again.
For purposes of recording the archaeological
remains, the newly discovered portion of the tunnel
system has been divided into two areas. The maze of
passageways located between the northern branch and
the deep pit where exploration stopped in 1988 has
been designated Operation VIII. Several lower levels
reached by descending into the pit and explored for the
first time in 1989 have been separated as Operation IX.
Operation VIII
Since the new branch is the only area of the
cave that has not been subjected to recent looting, one
of the primary objectives of the survey was to
determine if the artifact distribution in this area was
similar to that found in the rest of the tunnel system.
Our earlier exploration of the tunnel system found
large numbers of broken, unslipped and monochrome
slipped jars in alcoves along the cave wall. Did the
breakage reflect a pattern of ceremonial destruction as
is reported at other caves (Pendergast 1971:112;
Graham et al. 1980:168; Carot 1989:26) and known to
occur in modern ceremonies (Lothrop 1929: 17-8; Ries
1943), or was this pattern the result of thorough looting
in which the polychromes and whole vessels had been
removed prior to our survey?
The survey of Operation VIII recovered 26 lots
of artifactual material, 23 of which contained ceramics.
Almost all of these lots were found in alcoves along the
cave wall as was the case elsewhere in the tunnel
system. No intact vessels were found in Operation VIII
and the distribution of ceramics appears to be
essentially identical to that found in the rest of the
tunnel system. This suggests that ceremonial breakage
of vessels did occur and was a standard part of rituals
practiced at Naj Tunich. As in other parts of the tunnel
system, large portions of particular vessels were found
lying in restricted areas. While considerable effort was
given to reconstruction, a polychrome plate found
around an altar was the only vessel restorable to a
nearly complete condition. This may indicate that part
of each vessel was removed to be deposited elsewhere
at the conclusion of the ceremony, a practice noted in
modern Maya ritual (Tedlock 1982: 66).
Over 80 per cent of the ceramics recovered
belonged to either unslipped types or to a crude
monochrome slipped type. This pattern is similar, once
again, to that found during our previous work and
suggests that large quantities of polychrome and fine
slipped ceramics were never used in the tunnel system.
While the bulk of the ceramics belong to what would
normally be described as "utilitarian" types, the
patterns discovered this season have a number of
important implications for the interpretation of cave
material. First, the new branch has produced at least
seven shoe-shaped vessels of unslipped, striated
pottery, making a total of thirty shoe- pots from Naj
Tunich -the largest collection from a lowland Maya
site. This supports the argument made elsewhere
(Brady 1987, 1989) that these vessels, more than threequarters of which are found in caves, are a ceremonial
rather than a culinary form.
Several archaeologists (Pendergast 1971: 114-5;
Pope and Sibberensen 1981 :53-4; Walters 1988)
working in caves have proposed that habitation did
occur based on the presence of what they called
"domestic" pottery, while they see the ceremonial
function of the cave reflected in polychrome and fine
paste ceramics. The recovery of predominantly
"domestic" pottery from the obviously ceremonial new
branch of Naj Tunich suggests that this is far too
simplistic a model. Within the tunnel system, artifacts
tend to be found in small alcoves which, for lack of
space, would have limited ceremonies to one or a few
participants. It has been argued that this reflects a
pattern of private ritual (Brady 1989). The majority of
the polychrome ceramics is found in the entrance of the
cave on the balcony, which has ample space on each
level for hundreds of spectators. The labor necessary
for the construction of the balcony required recruitment
on a large scale, such as one finds with public
structures. Because of its size and the nature of the
construction, the balcony appears to be associated with
public display. Thus, polychrome ceramics, at least at
Naj Tunich, appear to be related to public ceremonies
while the "domestic" pottery is associated with private
ritual. This should not be taken too far, however,
because large quantities of "domestic" ceramics were
also recovered from the balcony.
While polychrome ceramics are rare in the
tunnel system, those present tend to be concentrated in
areas containing special features where larger, more
formal ceremonies might have occurred. During our
previous work, the greatest quantity of fine ceramics
was associated with a small earthen platform which is
the only such architectural feature in the tunnel system.
In the new branch most of the fine ceramics were
associated with an altar at the entrance to Operation
VIII where the tunnel is wider than most other areas.
The fragments of two plates recovered from around the
altar represent 78 per cent of all polychrome pottery
found. Eighty-seven per cent of the fine ceramic types
including Aguila Orange and the only fragments of an
elaborate gouged- incised cylindrical vase were also
recovered in this area. Thus, the high concentration of
polychrome and fine paste ceramics around the altar
supports the idea that polychrome pottery at Naj
Tunich seems to be associated with formal, more
public ritual, rather than being reflective of a domestic
versus a ceremonial function.
During the analysis of the Naj Tunich ceramics
from the 1988 season, it was found that many of the
sherds gave off the unmistakable aroma of copal
incense if heated in an oven (Escobedo 1989) and it
was also found that almost every lot produced the
aroma to a greater or lesser degree. In 1989, this
technique was refined by presorting the ceramics and
heating types individually. All of the unslipped and
crude monochrome types -in other words, all the
"domestic" or "utilitarian" types -produced the aroma.
This is not to say that all vessels in those types were
used for burning copal, but at least some portion of
each of these types was used in this manner. The
frequent evidence of fire blackening on the interior of
sherds indicates that burning was occurring inside
vessels and suggests once again their use as incense
burners rather than for cooking where one would
expect to find fire blackening on the exterior. In
modem Maya ceremonies at Naj Tunich large
quantities of incense were burned in plain ceramic
vessels and produced the same pattern of burning
observed on the ancient ceramics. The frequency with
which interior burning was encountered suggests that
this was a major function of ceramics in the cave. This
is hardly surprising in that Cook (1986: 139) states that
the use of fire is so prevalent in modern Maya ritual
that ceremonies are referred to as "burnings." The
results of our experiment clearly demonstrate that
"domestic" pottery often had a ceremonial use, so that
one cannot imply vessel function, in most cases, based
solely on surface finish or vessel form.
Operation IX
In 1988, Veni was forced to stop his exploration
of the new branch at the edge of a 20 m deep pit at the
end of Operation VIII. At the time it was noted that
there was a ledge half way down the pit on the opposite
side where a large passage appeared to continue.
During the 1989 season, the authors descended into the
pit and found that the passage did indeed continue to
both the east and west. The eastern portion of this
passage contains the remains of an ancient path with
portions of footprints preserved in places. Small pieces
of charcoal from torches were also noted and a shell
pendant was found. The western portion produced no
evidence of utilization, other than charcoal fragments,
until near the end of the passage where several
drawings and an altar were encountered. These will be
described in later sections. It was also found that the
passage continued at the bottom of the 20 m deep pit.
Because of the difficulty of the descent, the exploration
of this segment was conducted exclusively by
speleologists Veni and Cobb. In this passage the
fragmentary skeleton of a small child was found.
Operation IX contained few artifacts. The upper
level's pendant and altar, with its associated ceramic
vessel, and the skeleton on the lower level represent the
only artifacts recovered. The significance of these
finds, however, lies in their location beyond the deep
pit and their implications about Maya caving ability.
Little has been written about the nature of Maya cave
exploration, but speleologists feel that the Maya
generally avoided deep drops. The descent of over 100
m in a series of drops described by Stephens (1963, 2:
87-98) at Bolonchen with the use of ladders is a
notable exception to 'this. To reach any of the passages
in Operation IX at Naj Tunich, a deep and difficult
descent and ascent had to be made. Because of the
narrowness of the passages in Operation VIII, it is
unlikely that the Maya could have brought a pole long
enough to use as a ladder, making it more likely that
ropes were employed. The evidence in this case, that
the Maya were able to negotiate deep and difficult
drops, clearly indicates the need for a more formal
study of Maya caving patterns.
Altars
Among the noteworthy features of the new
branch is the presence of two of the most elaborate
altars yet reported for a Maya cave. The first, described
by Stone (1989a), is located at the entrance to the new
branch in Operation VIII. The altar consists of a pile of
rough stones, approximately one meter high, set against
the cave wall. The top stone has a vertical projection
that turns at a 45º angle and reaches a height of 1.7 m
above the ground. The necks of two ceramic vessels
had been set on the projecting stone.
Scattered around the base and inside the altar
were sherds from two Late Classic, Saxche Orange
Polychrome plates, one of which is the only completely
restorable vessel from Operation VIII. The less
complete plate contains a single readable glyph, the
'hel' glyph (T573), connected with dynastic succession
(Riese 1984). It has a 'ben-ich' superfix read as ahau, a
royal title and the highest ranking political office held
at any given Maya site. The two graphemes might be
translated "ahau (lord) of the succession."
The second altar is located in a circular chamber
near the western end of the upper passage in Operation
IX. The chamber is entered by means of a low opening
at the top of a steep rise and the floor drops
precipitously as one leaves he far side of the chamber.
Thus, the chamber is set at a higher level than the
passage on either side. This, along with the restricted
entrance and a line of stalagmites running along the
border of the chamber as one exits, define the chamber
as a individual entity, separate from the rest of the
passage. The rear portion of the room contains a raised
flowstone formation. At the base of the formation is the
altar, set directly in line with the entrance so that one is
confronted with the construction on entering. A line of
seven broken, inverted stalactites set up along the back
of the altar makes the first encounter all the more
dramatic (Fig. 3). The open space south of the altar is
dominated by a large stalagmite, 1.82 m in height. An
inverted gadrooned vessel was found against the west
wall of the chamber. The vessel was intact except for a
single "kill" hole in the shoulder. Not only was this the
only intact vessel found in the entire new branch, it was
the only artifact found in this section of the passage.
The considerable attention devoted to the description
of the chamber is given because one cannot fully
understand the role of caves in Maya ritual without
appreciating the often dramatic settings in which these
rituals took place.
In analyzing the first altar, Stone (1989b)
observes that prominent vertical projections are a
common feature of Maya cave altars. Ethnographer
William Hanks (personal communication, cited in
Stone 1989b) observes that piles of stones as well as
other phenomena given marked vertical emphasis are
associated with the sacred among the Yucatec Maya of
Oxkutzcab. The inverted stalactites set in the back of
this second altar agree with Stone's observations.
Beyond the altar, the presence of the large stalagmite in
the center of the floor and the line of stalagmites along
the exit may have also been considered vertical stones
which signaled the ancient Maya that this chamber was
a place of special sacredness.
Paintings and Drawings
Five new graphic images were recorded at Naj
Tunich during the 1989 field season, Drawings 89, 90,
91, 92, and 94. Drawings 89,91, and 92 are all crude
faces. Drawing 89 (Fig. 4) is located in Operation VIII
on a stalactite. It consists of a row of loops drawn with
charcoal and a series of lightly incised lines which
appear to form a face. Drawings 91 and 92 are both
located in Operation IX at the end of the tunnel just
beyond the altar. Drawing 91, painted on a flat
stalactite, utilizes the edge of the rock as the profile. A
series of rapid, curvilinear strokes is suggestive of long
flowing hair and a beard. Two meters away, Drawing
92 appears to be a frontal face with dots representing
the eyes and nose and a larger area of charcoal for a
mouth. As with Drawing 91, the boundaries of the face
are formed by the shape of the flat triangular stalactite.
.
Fig. 4: Drawing 89 (Drawing by Andrea Stone)
Drawing 90 (Fig. 5) is the most important new
painting found during the 1989 field season. It is a twoglyph text, 8.5 cm high by 5 cm wide, painted on a 2.4
m high stalagmite. The top of the painting is 1.53 m
above the ground, that is, about eye level. In view of its
location deep within Operation IX, Drawing 90 is truly
extraordinary and must be counted as one of the most
remotely sequestered hieroglyphic inscriptions ever
made by the Maya.
The two glyphic compounds - T671:24
T37.1016 - are fine examples of Late Classic writing
which have known phonetic values. The T671-fist,
which appears in the chik' in or 'west' collocation, has a
widely accepted phonetic value of chi. T24, which
seems to represent a mirror, is generally read as il or li.
A phonetic reading of chil or chi-il for the first
compound seems probable. Chiil and chi' have a
number of meanings in Yucatec and Cholan languages
which makes it difficult to pin down the meaning of the
first compound. In the Cordemex Dictionary (Barrera
Vásquez 1980: 99), for example, chiil is glossed as
both a type of insect and as a manatee. In Ch'ol, as well
as other Maya languages, chil means 'cricket' (Aulie
and Aulie 1978: 48). If T671 chi is seen as the root and
T24 as a suffix, new possibilities arise. As noted by
Barrera Rubio and Taube (1987: 13), chi in Cholan and
Tzeltalan languages means 'maguey' or 'pulque,' the
alcoholic drink made from it (the Yucatecan word for
pulque is ki'). In fact, they cite several textual examples
in which the T671-fist may refer to such an alcoholic
beverage. In Yucatec chi' means 'mouth,' 'edge,' or
'door' (Barrera Vásquez 1980: 91). It is not clear how
the -il suffix would function, though in Yucatec it
could be a relational suffix, in which case the first noun
would be possessed by the second, as in wahil k'ol, 'the
bread of the milpa' (William Hanks, personal
communication, 1989). Barbara MacLeod (personal
communication, 1989) has pointed out, however, that
nouns marked by relational suffixes are usually
prefixed by a possessive pronoun, such as u-, which is
lacking here.
Fig. 5: Drawing 90 (Photo by Andrea Stone)
The second collocation presents a water groupGod C compound, T37.1016. Stuart (1989) has argued
for an iconographic interpretation of both graphemes as
'blood.' Ringle (1988), reviving an earlier suggestion
by Barthel, posits that both T1016 and the water group
(here the T37 variant) represent k'u in Yucatec and
ch'u in Cholan. In light of this argument, might read
chiil k'u/ch'u (the latter depending on whether Yucatec
or Cholan is the relevant language). The meaning of
k'u/ch'u encompasses a range of things sacred and can
refer to a temple, a deity, or describe something as
holy. If T24 is a relational suffix, chi' il k' u could be
glossed in Yucatec as 'mouth/door/edge of the deity/
temple/sacred thing.' This reading is interesting in light
of the fact that the stalagmite and the text lie at the base
of a slope which leads directly to the circular chamber
where the elaborate altar is found. Thus, a translation
of Drawing 90 which suggests the entryway to a sacred
room fits well with the physical setting.
One significant point in considering Drawings
90, 91, and 92, all located in close proximity in
Operation IX where access is very restricted, is the
mixture of Classic (D. 90) and schematic (D. 91 and
92) art styles. Drawing 90 and the ceramic vessel
associated with the altar are both Late Classic (550-900
A.D.) in date as are all of the ceramics in Operation
VIII which suggests that the utilization of the new
branch was restricted to this period. Thus, these three
images most likely represent an instance in which
folkart and Classic style art are contemporaneous and
in fact could have all been drawn on the same trip by
different members of the group.
The last image, Drawing 94 (Fig. 6), is located
on the Balcony in the entrance chamber and was
reported during archaeological excavations in 1988 but
not recorded until 1989. Drawing 94 is a poorly
preserved three-glyph hieroglyphic text painted on a
flowstone curtain. Though certain graphemes can be
distinguished in the first glyph block, most of the text
consists of mere fragments which are impossible to
read. Nevertheless, the text is important in providing
the first concrete evidence that painting did occur in
the lighted areas of Naj Tunich.
Fig. 6: Drawing 94 (Drawing by Andrea Stone)
Ecology
Naj Tunich has been divided into three ecologic
zones: transition zone, twilight zone and dark zone.
The transition zone, located in the entrance chamber, is
exposed to indirect daylight and experiences wide
fluctuations in temperature and humidity. Most of the
energy within this zone is derived from leaf litter and
sediments washed in by rain. Many surface organisms
use this zone for foraging, hunting and/or shelter
including insects, amphibians, reptiles and mammals.
Much of the balcony structure in the entrance
chamber falls within the twilight zone, characterized by
low levels of light during daylight hours. This is a zone
of moderate energy, primarily derived from small
amounts of organic material brought in by animals or
man and has a narrower temperature and humidity
variation than the transition zone. Biologically it
overlaps the transition zone and the dark zone, and
contains troglobites, troglophiles, trogloxenes and
accidentals. While this zone is not suited for all of
these organisms, all will occasionally enter the zone to
find food.
The dark zone encompasses the entire tunnel
system. This zone is a low energy system characterized
by constant temperature and humidity, and by a total
lack of light. While water does find its way into the
dark zone, little organic material enters with the water.
As a result of the low energy input the population of
cave fauna is sparse with organisms widely dispersed
to maximize food utilization. The major food sources
are fungus, detritus and predation.
Three sources of organic matter add energy to
the cave system: rain run-off, small animals and bats.
Currently, rain run-off adds most of the energy to the
system but is only an important factor in the entrance
chamber. Small animals bring organic matter into the
system by a variety of methods. Their droppings are
probably the most important energy source. Small
rodents carry leaves and grass into all three zones to
construct nests. Observations in other caves indicate
that rodent nests are common but usually occur in
confined, overlooked spaces. Small predators leave the
carcasses of their prey in caves which forms another
important food supply.
Bats are listed as a group separate from small
animals because their input is often the single most
important energy source within a cave system. The
guano supports a complex and diverse faunal
community. Since the initial investigations of Naj
Tunich in 1981 the bat population has markedly
decreased so that in April 1989 only a few bats were
observed. Within the cave, evidence of previously
large populations is indicated by staining of the walls
and ceiling but little fresh guano was observed in the
dark zone. This may be the result of frequent human
visitations and the 1982 construction of a gate
restricting the bats' access to the dark zone. The
reduction of the bat population has probably also
reduced the population of other cave species.
Biological collections were made primarily
within the dark zone during the survey of the cave.
None of the fauna has been fully identified as yet. The
following families were collected in 1989 (James
Reddell, personal Communication): scorpions
[Scorpionida (small eyes and depigmented body)],
pseudoscorpions [Pseudoscorpionida] , whipless whipscorpions [Amblypygida (Pararhynus sp.)] , spiders
[Araneae] , millipedes [Diplopoda], silverfish
[Nicoletiideae], crickets [Gryllidea], assassin bug
[Reduviidea], and flies [Diptera].
Although a large number of families were not
encountered, the collection is significant since little is
known of the cave fauna in this region in Guatemala
and upon full identification it is expected that many of
these specimens will be new
species.
Summary
The investigation of the new branch of the cave
produced a number of significant results. First, the
investigation of artifacts in an undisturbed setting has
allowed us to confirm that the Maya practiced
ceremonial destruction of ceramic vessels as part of
their rituals. Second, the analysis of the ceramics from
the new branch revealed that the majority of the
material consisted of what is normally described as
domestic pottery. Analysis shows that at least some of
these vessels were used to bum copal. Because of this
analysis and the location of the material deep within
the cave, it is clear that one cannot assume that
domestic activities occurred based solely on the
presence of such ceramic types. Third, the disco- very
of two elaborate altars in the cave has added a new
architectural form to the inventory of construction at
Naj Tunich. Fourth, the investigations have produced a
number of new drawings. One inscription appears to
signal that the nearby chamber and altar is a sacred
place. Fifth, prior to our investigation of Operation IX
located beyond the pit at the end of Operation VIII, we
had no evidence that the Maya descended into any of
the pits at Naj Tunich. The exploration of Operation IX
clearly demonstrates that the Maya were not stopped
by such features. Sixth, the cave was found to have
undergone three primary stages of development, each
of which impacts the cave's ecosystem and the context
of the cultural materials. Preservation of the cave in its
current condition is dependent on maintaining the
overlying tropical flora. Seventh, thebiological survey has discovered a diverse but limited
fauna which may include a number of new species. The
decline in bat population may have precipitated a
drastic reduction or limination of species of
invertebrate cave fauna.
Acknowledgments
The authors would like to thank the National
Geographic Society for its generous support of the Naj
Tunich Project. Special thanks is also due Lic.
Leopoldo Colom Molina, Director General del
Patrimonio Cultural y Natural of the Instituto de
Antropología e Historia de Guatemala for granting us
permission to undertake the project and to Miguel
Valencia, then head of the Department of Prehispanic
and Colonial Monuments for his help and
collaboration. A great deal of help was provided in the
field by other members of the expedition, particularly
Sandra Villagran de Brady, Romulo Sánchez, Ray
Allard, and the Instituto guards at the site. Finally, Dr.
James Reddell has been a great help in processing the
faunal samples.
Barrera Vásquez, Alfredo
1980 Diccionario Maya Cordemex: Maya-Español,
Español-Maya. Ediciones Cordemex, Merida.
Brady, James E.
1987 The function and meaning of lowland Maya shoepots.
Paper presented at the Southwestern Anthropology
Association Meeting, Bakersfield, Ca.
80
1989 An investigation of Maya ritual cave use with
special reference to Naj Tunich, Peten, Guatemala.
Doctoral dissertation, Archaeology Program,
University of California, Los Angeles.
Butzer, Karl
1971 Environment and Archaeology. Chicago, Aldine.
Carot, Patricia
1989 Arqueología de 1as cuevas del norte de A1ta
Verapaz. México. Cuadernos de Estudios
Guatemaltecos 1, Centre D'Etudes Mexicaines et
Centramericaines.
Cook, Garrett
1986 Quichean folk theology and southern Maya
supernaturalism. In Symbol and Meaning Beyond the
Closed Community: Essays in Mesoamerican Ideas.
edited by G. Gossen, pp. 139-153. Institute of
Mesoamerican Studies, Studies on Culture and Society
Vol. 1. Albany. State University of New York.
Escobedo A., Héctor
1989 Resultados preliminares del análisis de la
cerámica de Naj Tunich. Paper presented at the Tercer
Simposio de Arqueología Guatemalteca, Guatemala.
Grahamm, Elizabeth, McNatt, Logan. and Gutchen.
Mark A.
1980 Excavations at Footprint Cave, Caves Branch,
Belize. Journal of Field Archaeology 7: 153-72.
Hole, Frank and Heizer, Robert F.
1965 An Introduction to Prehistoric Archaeology. New
York, Holt, Rinehart and Winston.
References cited
Aulie, H. Wilbur and Aulie, Evelyn W. de
1978 Diccionario ch'o1-español, español-ch'o1.
Mexico, lnstituto Lingüístico de Verano.
Barrera Rubio, Alfredo and Taube, Karl
1987 Los relieves de San Diego: una nueva
prespectiva. Boletín de la Escuela de Ciencias
Antropológicas de la Universidad de Yucatán 14, No.
83: 3-18.
Lothrop, S. K.
1929 Further Notes on Indian Ceremonies in
Guatemala. Indian Notes VI: 1-25. New York, Heye
Foundation.
Pendergast, David M.
1971 Excavations at Eduardo Quiroz Cave, British
Honduras (Belize). Occasional Paper 21. Toronto,
Royal Ontario Museum An and Archaeology.
Pope, Kevin O. and Sibberensen. Malcolm B.
1981 In search of Tzultacaj: cave exploration in the
Maya lowlands of Alta Verapaz, Guatemala. Journal of
New World Archaeology 4 (3): 16-54.
1990 Geology and geoarchaeology of Naj Tunich,
Peten, Guatemala. Abstract in the program of the
National Speleological Society Convention, p. 30.
Ries, Maurice
1943 The ritual of the broken pots. América Indígena 3
(3): 245-252.
n.d. The Geology and geoarchaeology of Naj Tunich.
In The Archaeology of Naj Tunich Cave: A
Contribution to the Development of a Maya Cave
Archaeology, edited by J. E. Brady (in preparation).
Ringle, William M.
1988 Of mice and monkeys: The value and meaning of
T1 016, the God C hieroglyph. Research Reports on
Ancient Maya Writing 18. Washington, D.C., Center
for Maya Research.
Stephens, John L.
1963 Incidents of Travel in Yucatan. New York, Dover
Publications. Inc. (original 1843).
Stone, Andrea
1989a Las pinturas y petroglifos de Naj Tunich, Petén:
investigaciones recientes. In Segundo Simposio sobre
Investigaciones Arqueológicas de Guatemala.
Guatemala, Museo Nacional de Arqueologia y
Etnologia. pp. 239-63.
1989b Naj Tunich, Guatemala: a study of cave painting
in the Maya underworld. Report submitted to the
National Geographic Society.
Straus, Lawrence Guy
1990 Underground archaeology: perspectives on caves
and rockshelters. In Archaeological Method and
Theory. Vol. 2 (ed M. B. Schiffer). Tucson, University
of Arizona Press.
pp. 255-304.
Stuart, David
1989 Blood symbolism in Maya iconography. In Maya
Iconography. edited by E. Benson and G. Griffin, pp.
175- 221. Princeton. Princeton University Press.
Stuart, George E.
1981 Maya art treasures discovered in cave. National
Geographic 160 (2): 220-35.
Ted1ock, Barbara
1982 Time and the Highland Maya. Albuquerque,
University of New Mexico Press.
Veni. George
1989 Geologic and management considerations in the
preservation of the Maya Naj Tunich cave paintings,
Peten, Guatemala. Paper presented at the annual
meeting of the American Rock An Research
Association, San Antonio, Texas.
Walters, Gary Rex
1988 Maya Ceremonial Caves Project: 1988, Belize,
Central America. Columbia, Mo, Triad Research
Services.
ZUSAMMENFASSUNG: Erforschung eines neuen
Teilabschnitts von Naj Tunich: Beitrage fiir erne
Interpretation: Die Kampagne von 1989 war der
Erforschung eines bisher unbekannten Teiles der Hohle
von Naj Tunich. Peten, Guatemala, gewidmet. Dabei
wurde ein ungestoner Teilbereich erkundet, der mehr
als 750 m vom Hohleneingang entfemt liegt. In diesem
Bereich wurden erne Reihe neuer Entdeckungen
gemacht, darunter Inschriften und Altare. Eine Inschrift
scheint darauf hinzuweisen, daB es sich bei der
naheliegenden KammermitAltarurn einen geheiligten
On handel- te. Die Keramikfunde belegen einerseits ein
rituelles Zerbrechen von Gefiillen, andererseits wurde
ein groBer Prozentsatz der Kera- rnik zum Verbrennen
van Raucherwerk verwendet.
RESUMEN: Exploracion de un nuevo sector de la
cueva de Naj Tunich: implicaciones para una
interpretacion. La temporada de 1989 ha estado
dedicada a la exploracion de un sector hasta ahara
desconocido de la extensa cueva ceremonial de Naj
Tunich, Peten, Guatemala.
Seexplorounaseccioninalterada, ubicada amas de 750
m de la entrada de la cueva. Aqui se descubri6 una
serie de rasgos nuevos como inscripciones y altares.
Una inscripci6n parece sefialar que el cuarto y altar
aledafios eran lug ares sagrados. Los hallazgos de esta
zona conflInlan la existencia de un rito maya de
quebrar cerarnica. En la gran mayoria de la cerarnica
hallada se trata de piezas 'domesticas', no engobadas 0
engobadas monocromas. Su analisis demuestra que este
material en general se usaba para quemar incienso.