在遗址“奇琴伊察”发现了古代玛雅人举行仪式的洞穴存在解开玛雅文明大城市消失的线索
在古代玛雅城市遗址奇琴伊察发现了一处曾用来举行某种仪式的洞穴。考古学家在洞穴中发现了超过150种和祭祀仪式有关的物品，它们至少已经存在超过1000年了。
该考古团队由国家地理学会赞助，Guillermo De Anda是该学会的一名探险队员，他有一个叫“惊奇玛雅计划”的团队，于是他们便一直便在墨西哥Yucatán半岛寻找神圣的玛雅城市。
“我已经说不出话来了，我哭了。”他告诉国家地理的采访者。“我对留存在神圣的洞穴里的一些物品进行了分析，这超出了我的想象和期待，这是我生平第一次这么近距离地感受到，独自一人地，他们就这样将这些东西摆放在你的面前。
该洞穴的结构系统，被称为“芭拉库洞穴”（类似美洲豹之神那样的洞穴）。这种洞穴在1966年被当地的农民发现，之后考古学家Víctor Segovia Pinto拜访了那里。当时他说那下面有许多史前的文物，于是他命令那些农民封住了洞穴，之后也没有再进行继续地考古工作，这种情况一直持续到了去年。
在一系列的洞室里发现的祭祀物品，包括一些花瓶，香炉，纹饰的盘子。研究者认为这些物品将提供有力地提供一些关于玛雅城市盛衰的线索。目前总共有155件文物已经得到确认。其中有一件文物上有雨神特拉洛克的脸，还有一件物品上刻有代表玛雅宇宙观的象征性木棉树标识。
芭拉库洞穴比1959年在附近发现的另一个洞穴-“巴兰坎彻”要大得多，那里面发现了70件文物。“芭拉库就像是巴兰坎彻的母亲，”anda对杂志社的工作人员说。“我不想说数量比信息量更重要，但是当你发现那里有更多的物品和更难理解的东西的时候，或许这就很能说明一些问题了。”
玛雅文明存在于公元前2000年到1600年之间，但随着欧洲殖民者的到来，玛雅文明在数百年前开始衰落。在公园8世纪到9世纪时，玛雅的一些城市开始遭到废弃，奇琴伊察的孩子是玛雅城市中最大和最多样化的群体，在9世纪和13世纪时到达顶峰。根据联合国教科文组织的数据显示，在13世纪后，玛雅便没有再建造新的建筑，然后再1440年左右他们的人口便突然急剧下降。不久后，城市便荒芜废弃了。以前有研究者推测是因为旱灾，殖民和土壤耗尽影响导致的。
但最新的发现应该可以为那些遗弃的城市提供新的时间线索。“芭拉库洞穴不仅仅能告诉我们关于奇琴伊察衰落的时候，”anda说。“它也很可能告诉我们它们的开始，现在我们已经有了一批封存的文物，它们包含了大量的信息，包括有用的有机物质，这样我们就能利用他们来了解整个奇琴伊察的发展状况。
ANCIENT MAYA RITUAL CAVE DISCOVERED BENEATH CHICHEN ITZA HOLDS CLUES ABOUT VAST CITYS COLLAPSE
a ritual cave has been discovered beneath the ancient Maya city of Chichen Itza. Archaeologists found more than 150 objects relating to ritual practices in the cave, which they said had been untouched for more than 1,000 years.
The expedition, which was partly funded by a grant from the National Geographic Society, was led by Nat Geo explorer Guillermo de Anda and a team from the Great Maya Aquiver Project. De Anda came across the cave while looking for a sacred well beneath the city on Mexico’s Yucatán Peninsula.
“I couldn’t speak, I started to cry,” he told National Geographic. “I’ve analyzed human remains in [Chichen Itza’s] Sacred Cenote, but nothing compares to the sensation I had entering, alone, for the first time in that cave. You almost feel the presence of the Maya who deposited these things in there.”
The cave system, called Balamku ("Cave of the Jaguar God") was found by farmers in 1966 and visited by archaeologist Víctor Segovia Pinto. At the time he said there were archaeological artifacts down there. However, instead of exploring further, he ordered the farmers to seal up the cave—and it remained that way until last year.
Ritual objects, including vases, incense burners and decorated plates, were found in a series of cave chambers. Researchers believe these objects will provide vital clues about the rise and fall of the city—and indeed the civilization itself. In total, 155 artifacts have so far been identified. One was found to have the face of the rain god Tlaloc, while another had markings representing the Maya universe—the symbolic ceiba tree.
Balamku is far larger than another nearby ritual site discovered in 1959. This cave, called Balankanche, contained 70 objects. “Balamku appears to be the ‘mother’ of Balankanche,” De Anda told the magazine. “I don’t want to say that quantity is more important than information, but when you see that there are many, many offerings in a cave that is also much more difficult to access, this tells us something.”
The Maya civilization existed between 2,000 BCE and the 1600s, with the arrival of European conquests. It had started to decline hundreds of years earlier, however. During the eighth or ninth century, there was a collapse and cities started to be abandoned.
Chichen Itza was one of the biggest and most diverse of the Maya cities, peaking between the ninth and 13th centuries. According to UNESCO, there were no major monuments built after the 13th century, and it rapidly declined around 1440 AD. Shortly after, it was abandoned. Researchers have previously speculated this could have been the result of droughts, conquests and exhausted soils.
The latest discoveries in the cave should provide clues about the timeline of events that led to the city being deserted. “Balamku can tell us not only the moment of collapse of Chichen Itza,” De Anda said. “It can also probably tell us the moment of its beginning. Now, we have a sealed context, with a great quantity of information, including usable organic matter, that we can use to understand the development of Chichén Itzá.”
翻译/兰桂姬LANGUAGEE
作者： HANNAH OSBORNE
来源： NEWSWEEK
