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

18when a structure is placed over or in close proximity to a cave, the “surface architecturebecomes an extension of and interwoven into the sacred landscape.” The surfacestructure and the associated cave become a “cave complex.” For this reason, Brady(1997) believes this pattern of cave utilization is more widespread in the Maya area.This type of settlement configuration has been identified in Maya (e.g. Mayapan,Chichen Itza, Las Pacayas), as well as non-Maya sites (e.g. Teotihuacan).Documentation of man-made caves throughout Mesoamerica also points to theimportance of these subterranean spaces in regions where caves do not naturally occur(Brady 1997).The extensive system of caves at Dos Pilas has also procured ceramicassemblages dating back to the Preclassic. This suggests that these subterranean spaceswere important features before the rise of Dos Pilas as a dominant regional polity (Brady1997:610). This belief of the cave as ritual and sacred space clearly manifests itself inthe Late Classic construction of major architecture over the vast system of cavesassociated with the site, as well as the intentional deposition of human remainsthroughout these caves.Human skeletal materialThe discovery of human remains within a niche or in a pool of water is not anuncommon find in the caves of the Maya area. Deposits of human skeletal material ofvarying size and states of preservation have been found in virtually all caves in the Mayaarea that show evidence of human use (Gibbs 2000, Owen 2002, Pendergast 1971, Rueet al. 1989). Sites such as Talgua Cave in northeastern Honduras demonstrate that burial