Cave of the Jaguar Gods: The most important archaeological discovery in Mexico since the 1950s

Luis Un was a little boy when he first visited the cave.

It was 1966, and nearby farmers stumbled upon a hidden cave. They then informed a prominent Mexican archaeologist, who quickly closed the entrance. Decades later, this magical place has been forgotten – but not luis Un.

Last year, Un, 68, led a team of archaeologists back to an undisturbed secret cave, the remains of the ancient Mayan city of Chichén Itzá in the northern Yucatan Peninsula of Mexico.

Researchers are sure that this is the most important archaeological discovery in the region since the 1950s: hundreds of well-preserved Mayan artifacts are safely stored in an archaeological treasure trove called Balamkú ("Jaguar God Cave").

"The discovery of the Tiger God Cave allowed us to rewrite the story of Chichén Itzá." Guillermo de Anda, an archaeologist from Mexico's National Institute of Anthropology and History and director of the Great Maya Project (GAM), said, "So far, hundreds of well-preserved artifacts have been found in seven [ceremonial sacrificial chambers]. ”

According to the team, during the late canonical period (700-800 AD) and the classical terminal period (800-1000 CE) of the Mayan civilization, drought in the Yucatan region forced ancient inhabitants to look elsewhere for water.

In rock caves and sprawling cave systems that branch out, the Maya found not only valuable groundwater, but also something else: divinity.

"For the ancient Maya, caves were considered the entrance to the underworld," Holley Moyes, an anthropologist at the University of California, Merced, explained to National Geographic, "they represent the most sacred spaces of the Maya and also influence site planning and social organization." They were crucial and important to the religious experience of the Mayans. ”

Items found so far include incense burners, food containers, and drinking vessels — many depicting Tlāloc — the god of water and fertility, re-emerging in different forms in ancient Mesoamerican cultures.

Some artefacts contain remnants of ancient foods, bones, minerals and seeds. Through the analysis, the researchers can learn more about the people who once lived in this cave.

We can expect more discoveries in the future, as the cave system stretches for hundreds of meters and many of the clades have not yet been explored.

Part of the reason the artifacts are so well preserved is that the Tiger God Cave is an extremely hidden and difficult place to travel – inside it archaeologists have to bend down to walk, and in the 40-centimeter-high section, they have to crawl.

There was a lack of oxygen in the caves, and snakes were infested, but no one complained.

"This place is amazing," de Anda told The New York Times, "and now we're going to find a way to preserve the remnants of this ancient culture, a wonderful and unique place." ”

In addition, the team will move forward, hoping to find a link to the nearby Mayan pyramids — such as the secret passage leading to the pyramid.

Whether they succeed or not, the caves and their interior artifacts have become priceless treasures and bridges to history: a rare, tangible connection between the vanished civilization and today's explorers, the ancient and the modern.

"No, I can't say anything more, I'm going to cry." de Anda told National Geographic. When you first enter the cave, "those daily necessities give you the illusion of going back in time and going back to the Mayan era— they live around you, and you can feel them as if they left yesterday." ”

This article is translated from sciencealert and published by translator majer under the Creative Commons License (BY-NC).