Current Search: Caves--Belize. (x)
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Title
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The cave as a cosmogram: The use of GIS in an intrasite spatial analysis of the main chamber of Actun Tunichil Muknal, a Maya ceremonial cave in Western Belize.
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Creator
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Moyes, Holley., Florida Atlantic University, Fradkin, Arlene
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Abstract/Description
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This study is a spatial analysis conducted in the Main Chamber of Actun Tunichil Muknal, a Terminal Classic Maya ceremonial cave (A.D. 830--950), located in Western Belize. The research examines ancient Maya ritual cave use by analyzing artifact deposition patterns. Using a Geographical Information System (GIS), it provides a methodology for the development of comparative models of spatial organization. The system facilitated data visualization, exploration, and generation. The GIS was...
Show moreThis study is a spatial analysis conducted in the Main Chamber of Actun Tunichil Muknal, a Terminal Classic Maya ceremonial cave (A.D. 830--950), located in Western Belize. The research examines ancient Maya ritual cave use by analyzing artifact deposition patterns. Using a Geographical Information System (GIS), it provides a methodology for the development of comparative models of spatial organization. The system facilitated data visualization, exploration, and generation. The GIS was instrumental in the analysis of the proximity of artifacts to natural morphological features of the cave. Artifact deposition patterns were correlated with known ritual behavior patterns from the region. Using this method, boundary markers, artifact pathways, and a centrally located symbolic three-stone-hearth feature were identified. This study suggests that, within the cave, the ancient Maya employed a cognitive model of spatial organization similar to that witnessed by ethnographers in other venues, or reported in ethnohistorical texts in rites of foundation.
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Date Issued
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2001
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PURL
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http://purl.flvc.org/fcla/dt/12851
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Subject Headings
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Caves--Belize., Mayas--Balize--Antiquities., Spatial analysis (Statistics), Geographic information systems.
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Format
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Document (PDF)
