Exploring the Cave of the Crystal Maiden
Thursday, October 30, 2014
More than a thousand years ago ancient Maya went deep inside this cave to perform sacrificial rituals.
Benedict Kim
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Cave of the Crystal Maiden
Actun Tunichil Muknal is a giant limestone cave in the jungle of western Belize. Over the past 50 years, archaeologists have discovered vestiges of religious rituals in hundreds of caves throughout the land of the Maya.
In Actun Tunichil Muknal, or "Cave of the Crystal Sepulchre," the remains of a 20-year-old woman known as the "Crystal Maiden" have laid for more than 1,000 years. Archaeologists believe she was sacrificed by a priest as part of a religious ritual.
Archaeologist Holley Moyes has spent two decades crawling into jungle-choked caves to answer one question: What drove the Maya to make offerings in such dark, remote places?
http://discovermagazine.com/galleries/2014/dec/cave-of-the-crystal-maiden
