Plants of the Underworld: Ritual Plant Use in Ancient Maya Cave Ceremonies

List of Figures

Figure   1.  Map of the Upper Belize Valley indicating cave sites discussed in text.
Figure   2.  Nancé (Byrsonima crassifolia) pit from Actun Nak Beh.
Figure   3.  Scanning electron micrograph of a cohune (Attalea cohune) endocarp from Actun Nak Beh.
Figure   4.  Maize (Zea mays) cob fragment from Actun Chapat.
Figure   5.  Maize (Zea mays) cobs from Actun Chechem Ha.
Figure   6.  Maize (Zea mays) starch grains from Actun Chechem Ha.
Figure   7.  Squash seed (Cucurbita pepo) from Barton Creek Cave.
Figure   8.  Scanning electron micrograph of a chile pepper seed (Capsicum annum) from Barton Creek Cave.
Figure   9.  Maize cobs (Zea mays) from Barton Creek Cave.
Figure 10.  Scanning electron micrograph of a maize stem from Barton Creek Cave.
Figure 11.  Textile fragment from Barton Creek Cave.
Figure 12.  Close-up of textile fragment from Barton Creek Cave.
Figure 13.  Scanning electron micrograph of pine (Pinus sp.) charcoal from Barton Creek Cave.
Figure 14.  Maize god emerging from fissure in earth’s surface (adapted from Freidel et al. 1993).
Figure 15.  Unhusked maize cob from Barton Creek Cave.
Figure 16.  Plan sketch of Cahal Witz Na’ (adapted from Awe et al. 1998).
Figure 17.  Kan Bahlum Mo’ with nancé tree (adapted from Robertson 1983).
Figure 18.  Pinus oocarpa at Mountain Pine Ridge, Cayo District, Belize.
Figure 19.  Distribution of pine and hardwood charcoal at Actun Nak Beh.
Figure 20.  Distribution of pine and hardwood charcoal at Actun Chapat.
Figure 21.  Classic Maya phonetic sign for ta* (adapted from Stuart 1987).

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