Loltun Caves are located within the Puuc hills of Yucatan and are open to the public. The massive interconnecting caverns are visited on occasion by bus loads of tourists visiting the nearby ruins of Uxmal, Labna, Sayil, and other sites in the Puuc region. Few realize the importance of this set of caves in the prehistory of Mexico. Loltun has given archaeologists some of the earliest evidence for humans in the New World. The caves were used as a butchery for Ice Age animals during the Paleo-indian Period of Mesoamerican prehistory.
Other notable features of the Loltun include a bas-relief carving at one of the entrance which dates to the Late Pre-Classic. Of course within the caves archaeologists have found many examples of prehistoric Maya cave drawings.
Outside of one of the entrances to Loltun Caves is a large phallic monument. This monolith is almost the height of a person, and is very anatomically correct. It is a rather large example of a phallic tradition which was widespread in the Puuc region during the Late/Terminal Classic. This particular phallus was not originally found at Loltun. It was found at a small site nearby and transported to the Loltun archaeological zone for protection and for the visiting public. Interesting enough when the Spanish came the Maya were still using the caves for rituals and used them to escape from the conquistadors.
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17