In the Maw of the Earth Monster: Studies of Mesoamerican Ritual Cave Use (Linda Schele Series in Maya and Pre-Columbian Studies) [Hardcover]

James E. Brady (Editor), Keith M. Prufer (Editor)

Book Description

Series: Linda Schele Series in Maya and Pre-Columbian Studies | Publication Date: February 1, 2005

As portals to the supernatural realm that creates and animates the universe, caves have always been held sacred by the peoples of Mesoamerica. From ancient times to the present, Mesoamericans have made pilgrimages to caves for ceremonies ranging from rituals of passage to petitions for rain and a plentiful harvest. So important were caves to the pre-Hispanic peoples that they are mentioned in Maya hieroglyphic writing and portrayed in the Central Mexican and Oaxacan pictorial codices. Many ancient settlements were located in proximity to caves. This volume gathers papers from twenty prominent Mesoamerican archaeologists, linguists, and ethnographers to present a state-of-the-art survey of ritual cave use in Mesoamerica from Pre-Columbian times to the present. Organized geographically, the book examines cave use in Central Mexico, Oaxaca, and the Maya region. Some reports present detailed site studies, while others offer new theoretical understandings of cave rituals. As a whole, the collection validates cave study as the cutting edge of scientific investigation of indigenous ritual and belief. It confirms that the indigenous religious system of Mesoamerica was and still is much more terrestrially focused that has been generally appreciated.

Editorial Reviews

Review

This volume on Mesoamerican ritual cave use is a significant achievement on the editors' part and a major contribution to cave research. It is also a landmark in research on religion, ritual, and worldview in Maya studies as a whole. (Elizabeth Graham, Institute of Archaeology, University College London Journal of Latin American Studies 2006)

Review

This volume represents a unique contribution to the published data on ritual cave use in Mesoamerica. . . . No other volume includes such a range of sites, materials, or methodological approaches. (Charles Golden, University of Pennsylvania Museum, coeditor of Continuities and Changes in Maya Archaeology: Perspectives at the Millennium )

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 448 pages
• Publisher: University of Texas Press (February 1, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0292705867
• ISBN-13: 978-0292705869
• Product Dimensions: 9.4 x 6.2 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,097,522 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars In the Maw, May 16, 2006

By 

Cheryl Claassen (Boone, NC United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: In the Maw of the Earth Monster: Studies of Mesoamerican Ritual Cave Use (Linda Schele Series in Maya and Pre-Columbian Studies) (Hardcover)

Super book. Every article has new information either about pilgrimages to caves, cave rituals, cave ritual specialists, offerings, use of interior space in caves, or relationships of caves to surface sites. I have read and reread several of the chapters and wish that every US archaeologist would read this book. Alan Sandstrom has written an excellent chapter detailing a cave pilgrimage his family participated in last decade. There is also attention given to the place of rockshelters in sacred landscape in several articles. Read this together with Stone Houses and Earth Lords and you'll never look at caves and rockshelter assemblages the same.