Burials
It appears that elite cave burial was rare, but it is possible that common people may have used caves as burial places for their dead such as at the Caves Branch Rock Shelter in Belize. Two tomb structures have been discovered in caves to date. One at the site of Naj Tunich and the other at Quen Santo, both in Guatemala. Lineage founders have also been buried in caves. Elites were able to build their own elaborate burial "caves" and by doing so reinforced their power and status. It seems elites tried to make their tombs look like natural caves. Stalactites found at Tomb 2 of Nim Li Punit provide an example of this.
Read more about this topic: Maya Cave Sites
Famous quotes containing the word burials:
“Cole’s Hill was the scene of the secret night burials of those who died during the first year of the settlement. Corn was planted over their graves so that the Indians should not know how many of their number had perished.”
—For the State of Massachusetts, U.S. public relief program (1935-1943)