Enlightening the Shadowy Underworld of the Ancient Maya: Archaeology of the Rio Frio Caves, Belize

With Jon Spenard, Assistant Professor of Anthropology at California State University San Marcos

First documented and excavated in 1928 by Gregory Mason, the Rio Frio Caves were among the earliest studied caverns in Belize. He called the three caves A, B, and C, although today they are known locally as “Twin Cave,” and Rio Frio Cave respectively. In his study, Mason noted several architectural features including an altar, walls, and a zoomorphic cave formation that baffled him because he believed it was made by the ancient Maya. Working under what was later termed a paleolithic paradigm, he believed that past people were living in the caves and that the architecture was primarily defensive in nature used to keep debris from tumbling down into the caverns and to hide and protect the inhabitants from invaders. In 2018, I began the Rio Frio Regional Archaeological Project (RiFRAP), the second ever study the Rio Frio caves. Combining traditional archaeology with an array of emerging technology, my team and I have been excavating and digitally documenting the caverns. In this talk, I will present a multimedia virtual walking tour of two of the largest Rio Frio caverns, Caves A and C. Along the way, we’ll revisit the architectural constructions Mason discussed, reevaluate his conclusions about habitation and the nature of the “constructed” formation, and learn more about the RiFRAP’s ongoing investigations.

RiFRAP 2019 team in front of Cave C
RiFRAP 2019 Team
in front of Cave C
In tight cave passage

Jon Spenard is Assistant Professor of Anthropology at California State University San Marcos. He earned his master’s degree from Florida State University in 2006, and his Ph.D. from University of California Riverside in 2014. Both projects were investigations into ancient Maya cave ritual practices at Cancuen, Guatemala, and Pacbitun, Belize respectively. He began his current project, the Rio Frio Regional Archaeology Project (RiFRAP) in 2018 as the first long-term investigation of the Mountain Pine Ridge Forest Reserve of which the Rio Frio is part of. The lack of archaeological work in the Mountain Pine Ride reserve stands in stark contrast to the adjacent Belize Valley and Vaca Plateau, which are among the most intensively studied regions of the entire ancient Maya world. Though currently focused on the Rio Frio caves, the RiFRAP is a landscape archaeology project that aims over the long-term to understand the many ways ancient Maya people and their predecessors lived and interacted with the Mountain Pine Ridge and Rio Frio region.