HUMAN SKELETAL REMAINS OF THE ANCIENT MAYA IN THE ...

11Tlaloc and vessels with “bands of studs” were the principal ceremonial offerings foundthroughout the chambers (Andrews 1970). This image of the rain god may suggest thepresence of Central Mexican influences in the area. One of the more impressiveofferings contained 232 miniature stone manos and metates strewn on the cave floor, aswell as 25 clay spindle whorls and other large offertory vessels. The “Throne of theBalam” consisted of a large cache of ceremonial objects associated with an impressivepillar formed by a stalactite and stalagmite (Andrews 1970). This columnar formationalso had evidence of two handprints produced in red ochre. Artificial constructions werealso found in the entrance of the cave, as well as the main passageway.Ch’en P’ix CaveA single artifact may be as informative and noteworthy as a large ceremonialoffering consisting of hundreds of elements. This is true in the case of the serendipitousfind in the inner depths of the Ch’en P’ix cave, a cave located in the Northern VacaPlateau in west-central Belize. Exploration and basic surface collections of the caveproduced abundant deposits of artifacts. However, one of the more interestingdiscoveries was a nearly complete tripod plate with a depiction of an individual engagedin a possible bloodletting ritual (Colas et al. 2000). The ceramic sherds of the plate werefound near a few obsidian blades atop an artificial platform feature (Colas et al. 2000).A path outlined by broken speleothems led one from the cave entrance to this platform.According to Colas et al. (2000:9), these artificial constructions and the brokenpolychrome Tripod plate represent a possible location “built specifically for ritual