Actun Tunichil Muknal

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The Crystal Maiden.
The Crystal Maiden.

Actun Tunichil Muknal is a cave in Belize, near San Ignacio Cayo.

As a Maya archaeological site, ATM is notable for its skeletons, ceramics, and stoneware. The most famous of the human remains is known as "The Crystal Maiden". It is the skeleton of a teenaged girl, probably a sacrifice victim, the bones of which have been completely covered by the natural processes of the cave, leaving them with a sparkling appearance. There are several such skeletons in the Main Chamber.

The ceramics at the site are significant partially because they are marked with "kill holes", which indicates they were used for ceremonial purposes.

The cave is also an important tourist site, with guided tours.

[edit] References

  • Marachov, Nick and Williams, Nick (ed) Below Belize ca. 1991.
  • Miller, Tom Tunichil Muknal The Canadian Caver vol 21 no 2, 1989.
  • Williams, Nick An Introduction to Cave Exploration in Belize. Journal of Cave and Karst Studies 58(2):69-75
  • Brown, Oscar H. "My Own Private Apocalypto-Actun Tunichil Muknal [1]", The Adventures of O. Horse Brown, Jan. 25, 2007


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