“What do you mean by that?” she asked.
He shrugged. “I keep thinking about the fortresses I’ve visited in Europe. There are outer walls and then inside of those they sometimes have an inner defensive area where soldiers could fall back in the case of a breach.”
The tent flap shifted and Bronko stepped inside, heading for the jug of cold coffee next to the water carafe.
“A fortress?” Dr. Fernel shook his head. “Why would there be a fortress here, outside of Calakmul? It would make more sense to defend the city.”
“I agree,” Quint said. “Especially with the height of the wall on the inside. But why are we finding only weapons in the caches? No vases or other vessels. No jewelry. No statues or other forms of idolatry the ancient Maya kept on hand.”
“He has a good point,” Daisy said. “Typically, there is a variety in the caches at the sites I’ve worked. One cache might have mostly vessels or altars of some sort, but another cache would have something different.”
“Could the site have been sacred when they first built it, and then over time it changed roles?” Quint asked.
Angélica nodded. “That’s possible. It’s certainly happened at other Pre-Classic sites where the temples are built over previous structures from the older civilizations.” She turned to Dr. Fernel. “What about the drone footage?”
He scowled, shaking his head. “I couldn’t get under the canopy very well. Too many branches and vines. The view from higher up shows only treetops. A paleobotanist might enjoy the footage since this area probably hasn’t been touched by loggers in centuries, but it holds no value for those of us wanting to see what’s under the flora.”
“Let me look at it again,” her dad said, turning the computer back his way. “Could this be a site older than Calakmul? Something from the Archaic period prior to 2000 BCE? I mean, weare in the vicinity of much more ancient sites in comparison to those in the north.”
“That’s a possibility, of course,” Dr. Fernel said. “But there would likely still be signs of at least one basic structure resembling awitz.”
That was true, especially if this was a sacred site. “That structure in the center could be their version of awitz,” Angélica said.
“What’s awitz?” Quint asked, reaching for his field notebook and pencil.
Daisy waited for him to open the book. “It’s a sacred hill or mountain from where the Maya tradition says their people first originated. Have you ever heard of the Candelaria Caves?”
Quint shook his head as he scribbled in his notes.
“They are a cave system in Guatemala that are referred to in thePopol Vuhand said to be an entrance to the Underworld.”
“ThePopol Vuh?” Quint glanced up at Daisy. “As in the sacred text that tells the ancient history and some basic mythology of the Maya people?”
“Yes.” Daisy lowered her reading glasses. “The Candelaria Caves have a river flowing through parts of the cave system. This river travels underneath thewitz, supposedly coming out in nine different places, according to Maya history.”
“Nine?” Quint repeated as he wrote.
Daisy nodded. “Yes, as in the number of levels of the Underworld. The Candelaria Caves were located along a major trade route and you can find offerings from all over the Maya world within them. This was a very powerful spiritual center that would inspire pilgrimages from those who could afford to travel there. Thiswitzand cave system with the river underneath inspired the many temples built throughout the Maya lands. It’s believed to be why every town and city had a pyramid-shaped temple. It was their version of thewitz, and was designed to bring the Maya people closer to the Candelaria Caves where they believed everything started.”
Pedro yawned again. “I read somewhere once that for every pyramid the Egyptians built, the Maya built ten.”
“They were certainly prolific architecturally,” Juan said.
Dr. Fernel nodded. “We are finding so many settlements and cities now under the trees thanks to LIDAR. In a previouslyunstudied corner of Campeche, over 6,000 structures alone have been discovered recently.”
“So these temples are basically each city’s version of a sacred mountain?” Quint asked as he wrote.
“Yes,” Daisy answered. “And just as there is a cave system in the base of the sacred mountain, many temples have a doorway or a ‘mouth’ built into them. Take Uxmal up north, for example. The Pyramid of the Magician there has a mouth at the top of the steps, acting as a cave monster of sorts guarding the entrance toXibalba.”
Angélica took a sip of her tea before adding, “This is why kings later had their tombs built within the temples. They would be descending inside their version of the sacred mountain down intoXibalba.”
“Maybe the building in the center is like the sacred mountain,” her father said. “They could have built it down in the center of this natural basin because the leaders wanted to give the feeling of traveling down into the Maya Underworld.”
“Which they’d have to travel through before ascending to the heavens,” Daisy finished.
“I tell you one thing,” Pedro said, knocking twice on the table. “If there is a door to that temple, I’m not going inside. At least not until we make sure the building isn’t going to sink down and be swallowed by the ground while I’m holding the damned light forviejohere as he takes measurements.”
Juan snickered. “Chicken.”
