Naj Tunich
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Naj Tunich ( Mopan Maya: // "stone house, cave") is a series of
pre-Columbian era In the history of the Americas, the pre-Columbian era spans from the Migration to the New World, original settlement of North and South America in the Upper Paleolithic period through European colonization of the Americas, European colonization, w ...
natural
cave A cave or cavern is a natural void in the ground, specifically a space large enough for a human to enter. Caves often form by the weathering of rock and often extend deep underground. The word ''cave'' can refer to smaller openings such as sea ...
s outside the village of La Compuerta, roughly 35 km east of
Poptún Poptún is a municipality in the El Petén department of Guatemala. It covers an area of 1,128 km2, and had a population of 35,663 at the 2002 Census; the latest official estimate (as at mid-2012) was 64,988. It is some 385 km from Guat ...
in Guatemala.Naj Tunich Oxford Art
/ref> The site was a Maya ritual pilgrimage site during the
Classic period Mesoamerican chronology divides the history of prehispanic Mesoamerica into several periods: the Paleo-Indian (first human habitation until 3500 BCE); the Archaic (before 2600 BCE), the Preclassic or Formative (2500 BCE –  ...
. Artifacts show that the cave was accessed primarily during the Early Classic period. Deposits become rarer during the Late Classic period. The fame of the cave, however, rests on its long Late Classic (c. AD 600–c. 900) hieroglyphic texts as well as on a considerable number painted scenes and figures. In 2012, the caves were added to the Tentative Lists as a potential
UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international cooperation in education, arts, sciences and culture. It ...
World Heritage Site A World Heritage Site is a landmark or area with legal protection by an international convention administered by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). World Heritage Sites are designated by UNESCO for h ...
. By that time, they were already a National Monument of Guatemala.Caves of Naj, Coordinates N16 16 32 W89 15 35
/ref>


Rediscovery

According to the
UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international cooperation in education, arts, sciences and culture. It ...
summary, the caves were discovered by a Q'eqchi' Maya Native, a hunter named Bernabé Poin mid 1979 while hunting peccary with his dogs. Bernabe and his father Emilio explored the cave and revealed its existence to an American, Mike Devine, who lived in the area; Devine then guided some people into the site. Later, topographic surveys were completed by James Brady. The first academic visitation to the site was made by Pierre Ventur in 1980. Archaeological exploration commenced in 1981. Explorers included teams from the Institute of Anthropology and History and, in 1981, from the
National Geographic Society The National Geographic Society (NGS), headquartered in Washington, D.C., United States, is one of the largest non-profit scientific and educational organizations in the world. Founded in 1888, its interests include geography, archaeology, and ...
. It resulted in a map of the cave's passageways Naj Tunich has been thoroughly mapped and photographed in order to preserve as much of the paintings and hieroglyphs as possible. A photographic study was completed in 1988 by Andrea Joyce Stone. Her work was published as ''Images from the Underworld: Naj Tunich and the Tradition of Maya Cave Painting'' by the University of Texas Press (). The book included 199 monochrome photos, 296 line drawings and 14 maps. Stone stated that the cave had been vandalized several times by 1986 and that more serious vandalism occurred in 1989. A news item stated that in 1989, unknown persons "scratched, scraped or smeared into oblivion more than 20 of the ... images and hieroglyphic texts". The caves were closed to the public but copies of murals were painted in a replica cave; tours of that cave are available from a tour company.


Site description

The UNESCO web site provides details as to the contents of the site, including this paragraph:
This representation of pictorial art is unique in its kind in the Maya world, not only for quality but also quantity. Furthermore, the capricious formations of nature have made stalactites and stalagmites, creating a magical world within the multiple rooms and meandering branches of the cave. Among its visual representations are approximately 90 images among which anthropomorphic characters, animals, deities, musical instruments and hieroglyphic texts are represented.
The cave is located on a “sheer limestone cliff face more than 200m above” the surrounding valley, making access difficult. The cave mouth itself is located “at the end of a ravine." This accessway also includes two mounds which form a “gateway” to the entrance of the cave. Archaeologists note that while Naj Tunich cave was difficult to reach, the Maya altered the cave significantly through the use of architectural modifications. These modifications included the construction of steps, walls, and the infilling of the cave floor. Studies have shown that the materials required for these alterations were carefully chosen and carried from long distances. Naj Tunich cave is described as having a north-south orientation and includes two chambers, Chamber 1 and Chamber 2. The entrance to Naj Tunich is large enough to allow for natural light to enter into Chamber 1. The length of the cave is reported as 19m and the widest portion measuring 2.5m. The width of the cave tunnels would have limited access to individual persons in some portions. The cave had also featured “crystalline”
stalagmite A stalagmite (, ; from the Greek , from , "dropping, trickling") is a type of rock formation that rises from the floor of a cave due to the accumulation of material deposited on the floor from ceiling drippings. Stalagmites are typically ...
s and
stalactite A stalactite (, ; from the Greek 'stalaktos' ('dripping') via ''stalassein'' ('to drip') is a mineral formation that hangs from the ceiling of caves, hot springs, or man-made structures such as bridges and mines. Any material that is soluble an ...
s of a yellowish, transparent hue. But nearly all have been destroyed through either environmental or human causes. Naj Tunich cave is also associated with many artifacts relating to possible ritual activity. Maya artifacts at Naj Tunich include offerings of ceramics, lithics, bowls, precious minerals, copal incense, and human sacrifices. Chamber 1 includes wooden posts which are suspected to have created 2-3 smaller rooms within the chamber. An elaborate, 14 meter high balcony was also constructed in Chamber 1. This balcony is noted as including what would have been a shallow pool of water. This pool was altered by the Maya through damming. Chamber 1 also includes an altar or shrine area that includes a basin possibly associated with cosmological rituals. Both the balcony and shrine located in Chamber 1 were also likely used in water rituals which may have deepened associations between the caverns, water, power, and natural order. Along with the features of Chamber 1, two other areas of Naj Tunich cave were associated with access and control of water. One of these is a natural pool of water “located 40 meters into the tunnel system." The Maya had built a “small earthen platform” to the north of the pool. The presence of a large artifact assemblage in the vicinity of the pool suggests that the area was heavily used. The second section of Chamber 1 that was associated with water is the “Silent Well,” located at the tunnel section furthest from the cave entrance. The well is described as having a diameter of five meters and a long, muddy shaft. Traces of ancient Maya foot prints have been found around the well. Small amounts of clay are said to have been extracted from the Silent Well by pilgrims as mementos. The Maya may have preferred the clay from the Silent Well because of its location deep within the cave. Chamber 2 is noted as being the smaller of the two chambers. It is described as roughly circular and includes a natural window which could be covered in order to block sunlight. Unfortunately, much of the architectural alterations made to Chamber 2 have been destroyed by looters. Archaeologists believe that Naj Tunich was associated with the Maya city of Uxbenká, as it is located 2.3 km south of the Stela Plaza. In fact, it is believed that the Stela Plaza construction coincides with alterations made within Naj Tunich cave. Archaeologists have also noted that individuals at the Stela Plaza in Uxbenká were capable of looking out to Naj Tunich and vice versa. Which may be evidence of the importance of the relationship between the two sites.


Naj Tunich and sacred geography

Many studies have focused on Naj Tunich as being imbued with sacred, ritual power within Maya cosmology. Primarily, it has been interpreted as having what the Maya refer to as “''suhuy."'' This word has been applied to things which are “unsullied by the human presence." For the Maya, deep cave systems such as Naj Tunich may have represented the most untouched earthly domains. Naj Tunich is also unique in that it included cosmograms referred to as ''mesa'' which “defines the cosmic center and the four quarters” which originate from it. Often, these four quarters were marked with “sacred stones” which would be of a similar size and spherical. The center stone would represent the largest of the five stones. Archaeologists have explained that for the Maya, Naj Tunich may have represented the house of a divine being or entrance to the underworld,
Xibalba (), roughly translated as "place of fright", is the name of the underworld (or quc, Mitnal) in Maya mythology, ruled by the Maya death gods and their helpers. In 16th-century Verapaz, the entrance to Xibalba was traditionally held to be a c ...
. Studies have shown that Naj Tunich also served as a
pilgrimage A pilgrimage is a journey, often into an unknown or foreign place, where a person goes in search of new or expanded meaning about their self, others, nature, or a higher good, through the experience. It can lead to a personal transformation, aft ...
site. Researchers have noted that Naj Tunich may have represented access to economic, political, and material power. As well as a magical source of fertility and “pure” or ''suhuy'' water. Hieroglyphs at Naj Tunich have recorded the names of Maya elite who are said to have visited the site. The sites associated with having visited Naj Tunich included “
Caracol Caracol is a large ancient Maya archaeological site, located in what is now the Cayo District, of Belize. It is situated approximately south of Xunantunich, and the town of San Ignacio, and from the Macal River. It rests on the Vaca Plateau, ...
,
Ixkun Ixkun (Ixcún or Ixkún in Spanish orthography) is a pre-Columbian Maya archaeological site, situated in the Petén Basin region of the southern Maya lowlands. It lies to the north of the town of Dolores, in the modern-day department of Petén, ...
,
Ixtutz Ixtutz () was an important Classic Period Maya city located south of Ixkun in southeastern Petén, Guatemala. Ixtutz is situated in the valley of the Poxte River in the western portion of the Maya Mountains. The site was inhabited during the Pr ...
,
Calakmul Calakmul (; also Kalakmul and other less frequent variants) is a Maya archaeological site in the Mexican state of Campeche, deep in the jungles of the greater Petén Basin region. It is from the Guatemalan border. Calakmul was one of the large ...
,
Dos Pilas Dos Pilas is a Pre-Columbian site of the Maya civilization located in what is now the department of Petén, Guatemala. It dates to the Late Classic Period, and was founded by an offshoot of the dynasty of the great city of Tikal in AD 62 ...
, and possibly
Xultun Xultún is a large Maya archaeological site located 40 km northeast of Tikal and 8 km south of the smaller Preclassic site of San Bartolo in northern Guatemala. Site The site, which once supported a considerable population, has a 35 m t ...
."


Cave art and writing

Naj Tunich also featured a great number of petroglyphs and paintings; as well as 500
hieroglyphs A hieroglyph (Greek for "sacred carvings") was a character of the ancient Egyptian writing system. Logographic scripts that are pictographic in form in a way reminiscent of ancient Egyptian are also sometimes called "hieroglyphs". In Neoplatonis ...
. Naj Tunich is one of five caves which have been discovered to have Maya hieroglyphs. Naj Tunich features the highest number of hieroglyphs of any Maya cave and the total number of hieroglyphs identified exceeds the number of all other Maya cave writing combined. Archaeologists consider the artistic style at Naj Tunich as more refined than that of other Maya caves. The art of Naj Tunich cave varies greatly with subjects including mythological stories, deities, rituals, and performances. Naj Tunich is also one of twenty two Maya sites to include “explicit sexual imagery."Joyce, Rosemary. (2000)."A Precolumbian Gaze: Male Sexuality Among the Ancient Maya." In ''Archaeologies of Sexuality'', edited by Schmidt, Robert A. and Voss, Barbara L., Routledge, 2007, pp. 263–283. These explicit depictions of male figures with erect genitalia may relate to all-male performances of sex and gender. As well as a representation of homosexual desire and relationships.
Multispectral imaging Multispectral imaging captures image data within specific wavelength ranges across the electromagnetic spectrum. The wavelengths may be separated by filters or detected with the use of instruments that are sensitive to particular wavelengths, ...
has been used to study pigments at Naj Tunich cave. These studies show that at least three different pigments were used to create the images within the cave. Multispectral imaging also showed that the images show signs of “over-painting, repainting or touching up” by the artists.


Modern impact on the site

Since its rediscovery, Naj Tunich cave has been heavily impacted by looters. Looters have subsequently destroyed much of the architecture of the caves. The looters ejected “artifacts, rocks, and architecture” from the cave mouth, destroying parts of the cave. Conservation efforts led by the Uxbenká Cave Project (UCP) have assisted in salvage operations at Naj Tunich.


References


Bibliography

*Stone Andrea J. 1995-Images from the Underworld Naj Tunich and the Tradition of Maya Cave Painting *Brady, James E. 1989 An Investigation of Maya Ritual Cave Use with Special Reference to Naj Tunich, Peten, Guatemala. Ph.D. dissertation, University of California, Los Angeles. *Brady, James E. y Sandra Villagrán de Brady, 1991 -La arqueología de la cueva Naj Tunich: Patrones de utilización ritual. En II Simposio de Investigaciones Arqueológicas en Guatemala, 1988 (editado por J.P. Laporte, S. Villagrán, H. Escobedo, D. de González y J. Valdés), pp. 179–186. Museo Nacional de Arqueología y Etnología, Guatemala

*Andrea Stone—Regional Variation in Maya Cave Art. Journal of Cave and Karst Studies 59(1): 33-42


External links

{{Authority control Caves of Guatemala Limestone caves Wild caves Cave sites in Mesoamerican archaeology Petén Department Rock art in North America Sacred caves