Ancient 'Tomb' Unearthed in Guatemala Turns Out to Be Maya Steam Bath

[Judi Lynn]

By Laura Geggel, Senior Writer | January 14, 2019 03:16pm ET

- click for image -

https://img.purch.com/h/1400/aHR0cDovL3d3dy5saXZlc2NpZW5jZS5jb20vaW1hZ2VzL2kvMDAwLzEwMy82ODUvb3JpZ2luYWwvbWF5YS1iYXRoLTEuanBn

A 3D recreation of what the Maya bath may have looked like in its heyday.
Credit: Piotr Kołodziejczyk Jr.

Archaeologists have discovered an ancient steam bath that the Maya likely used for religious rituals — and possibly relaxation — more than 2,500 years ago.

The steam bath, discovered in the ancient Maya city of Nakum in what is now Guatemala, had fragmented ceramic vessels and obsidian tools in it — artifacts that were possibly used for rituals, said excavation co-leader Jarosław Źrałka, an assistant professor of New World archeology at Jagiellonian University in Kraków, Poland.

"It is one of the oldest steam baths in Mesoamerica," Źrałka told Live Science in an email, adding that the bath is "almost entirely carved into the limestone bedrock." [Photos: Carvings Depict Maya Ballplayers in Action]

. . .

The Maya used the bath from about 700 B.C. to 300 B.C. before covering it with mortar and rubble. "Perhaps it was related to the change of dynasty, which ruled in Nakum, or other important changes in the Mayan social and religious life," Koszkul told Science in Poland.

More:
https://www.livescience.com/64495-ancient-maya-steam-bath.html

Science:
https://www.democraticunderground.com/122861811

[d_r]

1. "Honey,

when are we ever going to get rid of that old tub?"

The Maya used the bath from about 700 B.C. to 300 B.C. before covering it with mortar and rubble.