Archaeological Reconnaissance at Tixan: Explorations in the Southern Sierra del Lacandón National Park, Petén, Guatemala

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Cueva de Tres Entradas

Atop a hill to the north of Oso Negro is a large cave known to local inhabitants as the Cueva de Tres Entradas. The cave is oval in shape, measuring 17 meters at its greatest width and with a ceiling 5 meters high (Figure 19). There are three openings in the roof of the cave, from which it derives its name (Figure 20a, shown above). The cave is entered by climbing down a long tree root in the western opening (Figure 20b, shown below). The floor of the cave consists primarily of loose rubble with some areas of exposed earth. The cave was dry and lacked stalactite and stalagmite formation.

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Near the northern end of the cave was a large concentration of human remains and ceramic sherds, presumably from a looted burial or a series of looted burials (Figure 21, shown below). In general, the ceramic sherds are most similar to forms from the Central Petén and include a mix of primarily Late Preclassic and Early Classic materials (Figure 22). The human remains included skeletal elements of at least five individuals. This minimum number of individuals was based on the presence of left proximal ulna fragments from three different adults and skeletal elements from two subadults of different ages. Although there was no evidence of pathological or cultural modifications, the human remains had been burned.

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