Xibun is an alternate Mayan spelling of Sibun that appears on some Spanish colonial-period maps of the region, and is sometimes used to refer to:
*the
Sibun River located in central
Belize
Belize is a country on the north-eastern coast of Central America. It is bordered by Mexico to the north, the Caribbean Sea to the east, and Guatemala to the west and south. It also shares a maritime boundary with Honduras to the southeast. P ...
*ancient or historic
Maya
Maya may refer to:
Ethnic groups
* Maya peoples, of southern Mexico and northern Central America
** Maya civilization, the historical civilization of the Maya peoples
** Mayan languages, the languages of the Maya peoples
* Maya (East Africa), a p ...
settlers in the Sibun River valley
Xibun Maya
Xibun may denote the ancient and historic
Maya
Maya may refer to:
Ethnic groups
* Maya peoples, of southern Mexico and northern Central America
** Maya civilization, the historical civilization of the Maya peoples
** Mayan languages, the languages of the Maya peoples
* Maya (East Africa), a p ...
inhabitants of the
Sibun River valley.
The
Sibun River meanders through a
Karst topography
Karst () is a topography formed from the dissolution of soluble carbonate rocks such as limestone and Dolomite (rock), dolomite. It is characterized by features like poljes above and drainage systems with sinkholes and caves underground. Ther ...
containing countless
Maya cave sites
Mayan cave sites are associated with the Mayan civilization of pre-Columbian Mesoamerica. Beliefs and observances connected with these cave sites persist among some contemporary Mayan communities. Many of the Mayan caves served religious purposes. ...
. A significant contribution of archaeological research in the area has been the documentation of the ritual use of caves by the Xibun Maya.
Of particular note, a pattern of
speleothem
A speleothem (; ) is a geological formation made by mineral deposits that accumulate over time in natural caves. Speleothems most commonly form in calcareous caves due to carbonate dissolution reactions. They can take a variety of forms, depen ...
(cave formation) breakage was documented in caves that was explained by their incorporation into public architecture at prehistoric settlements located across the river.
[Peterson, Polly A., Patricia A. McAnany, and Allan B. Cobb 2005 De-fanging the Earth Monster: Speleothem Transport to Surface Sites in the Sibun Valley. In ''Stone Houses and Earth Lords: Maya Religion in the Cave Context'', edited by Keith M. Prufer and James E. Brady, pp. 225–247. University Press of Colorado, Boulder.]
References
External links
Xibun
Geography of Mesoamerica
Maya civilization
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