New World, Maya, Chicanna, Campeche, Mexico

Mayadigger - Chicanna is a smallish ruin found in Southern Campeche, Mexico. Seen in the photo is a wonderous depiction of everything that the ancient Maya were really about. The ancient Maya, as well as nearly all Meso-American civilizations, believed that caves/grottos were the doors to the underworld (read after-life). In fact, when archaeologists dug beneath the vast Pyramid of the Sun in Teotihuacan in Mexico they discovered that the enormous pyramid was centered on the top of a huge underground complex. The ancient Maya named their underworld "Xibalba" and their representaion of this phenomenon is now known as a Witz Monster. In this photo we see the Witz Monster, his mouth agape, lower jaw displayed with huge teeth, leading into a temple. To the untrained eye it may be hard to make out, but if you look close, you can see his eyes above the doorway, and his ear-flairs to either side of the portal. Very cool...