Note
Dorothy F. Schmidt College of Arts and Letters
Member of
Contributors
Publisher
Florida Atlantic University
Date Issued
2001
Description
This study is a spatial analysis conducted in the Main Chamber of Actun Tunichil Muknal, a Terminal Classic Maya ceremonial cave (A.D. 830--950), located in Western Belize. The research examines ancient Maya ritual cave use by analyzing artifact deposition patterns. Using a Geographical Information System (GIS), it provides a methodology for the development of comparative models of spatial organization. The system facilitated data visualization, exploration, and generation. The GIS was instrumental in the analysis of the proximity of artifacts to natural morphological features of the cave. Artifact deposition patterns were correlated with known ritual behavior patterns from the region. Using this method, boundary markers, artifact pathways, and a centrally located symbolic three-stone-hearth feature were identified. This study suggests that, within the cave, the ancient Maya employed a cognitive model of spatial organization similar to that witnessed by ethnographers in other venues, or reported in ethnohistorical texts in rites of foundation.
Language
Type
Form
Extent
226 p.
Subject (Topical)
Identifier
9780493418131
ISBN
9780493418131
Additional Information
Dorothy F. Schmidt College of Arts and Letters
FAU Electronic Theses and Dissertations Collection
Thesis (M.A.)--Florida Atlantic University, 2001.
Date Backup
2001
Date Text
2001
Date Issued (EDTF)
2001
Extension
FAU
FAU
admin_unit="FAU01", ingest_id="ing1508", creator="staff:fcllz", creation_date="2007-07-18 21:59:05", modified_by="staff:fcllz", modification_date="2011-01-06 13:08:50"
IID
FADT12851
Issuance
monographic
Organizations
Attributed name: Florida Atlantic University
Person Preferred Name
Moyes, Holley.
Graduate College
Physical Description
226 p.
application/pdf
Title Plain
cave as a cosmogram: The use of GIS in an intrasite spatial analysis of the main chamber of Actun Tunichil Muknal, a Maya ceremonial cave in Western Belize
Use and Reproduction
Copyright © is held by the author, with permission granted to Florida Atlantic University to digitize, archive and distribute this item for non-profit research and educational purposes. Any reuse of this item in excess of fair use or other copyright exemptions requires permission of the copyright holder.
http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/
Origin Information
2001
monographic
Boca Raton, Fla.
Florida Atlantic University
Physical Location
Florida Atlantic University Libraries
Place
Boca Raton, Fla.
Sub Location
Digital Library
Title
cave as a cosmogram: The use of GIS in an intrasite spatial analysis of the main chamber of Actun Tunichil Muknal, a Maya ceremonial cave in Western Belize
Other Title Info
The
cave as a cosmogram: The use of GIS in an intrasite spatial analysis of the main chamber of Actun Tunichil Muknal, a Maya ceremonial cave in Western Belize