This cave is located 110 km from Merida via federal highway 31 in the State of Yucatan, Mexico. Only 4.3 miles from Oxkutzcab and 15 miles northeast from Labna ruins. Loltun Caverns are one of the biggest known from the huge cave system that covers a great territory in southern Yucatan. The Lol-Tun cave network, at its lowest levels, holds secrets that literally rewrite history. These same secrets also bear witness to the ultimate disaster that probably destroyed earth’s first major civilizations. Other material remains have been found in this and other parts of the grotto including pottery, marine shells, stone artifacts, bas-relief carvings, petroglyphs and mural paintings, corresponding to the distinct development stages of the Maya Culture. From the Formative period (600 B.C. - 150 A.D.) stands out the bas-relief carving known as "The Loltun Warrior", located in Nahkab (beehive) entrance, presenting inherited traits from ancient Olmecs.
From Classic (150 - 900 A.D.) and Post classic (900 A.D. to 16th century) can be observed cultural features such as mural paintings representing hands, faces, animals, geometric motifs and inscriptions; "haltunes" or artificial containers carved in the rock for gathering natural dripping water (suhuy-ha); as well as many petroglyphs, standing out those with flower motifs, which gave the name to the cavern. There are also 19th century barricades constructed by rebel Mayas who sheltered in this and other southern Yucatan caves during the so called "War of Castes".
In March, 1962, a small expedition headed by explorer/ author George Hunt Williamson, was reportedly guided by Mayan priests into a number of lower-level chambers. Dorris Andre, the wife of George Van Tassell (builder of the worldfamous Integetron Building) was the only woman in the party. The expedition’s Mayan language interpreter, Professor Vincente, was impressed with Dorris’s great interest in Mayan history and soon the Mayan priests themselves accepted her as a white Shaman. In recognition of the spiritual aura they saw in her persona, she was told a most insightful history of the area’s Mayan population.
Afterward, she and the rest of the party were guided to a chamber with a luminous fossilized ceiling. There, to their amazement, they later reported that they found the skeletal remains of woolly mammoths, large (sabertoothed?) tigers and bison—a virtual museum of Ice Age large, upper North American animals. Williamson and Dr. J. Manson Valentine would later debate how these extinct northern climate animals came to be in this southern Yucatan graveyard. The most logical theory (though thoroughly unacceptable to most anthropologists): the southern Yucatan was once located near present-day Newfoundland— before a pole shift. This is the story told by the Mayan priests: There once was a great movement of the earth’s surface, causing oceans to overrun their basins and flood all land. A great civilization was destroyed, with survivors clinging to floating debris. Despite the heavy rains that followed for many days, the survivors were ‘carried’ by winds and current to the shoreline below the Yucatan. (The priests literally pointed in a southward direction—toward present day Belize. The proof that this area is the genesis of the early Mayan civilization lies under the jungle floor in Belize. Over one hundred population centers/cities have been geographically mapped and are under the protection of the Belize government.)
In approximately 989 A.D., The Aztecs and Mayans in close proximity to the Atlantic Ocean were visited by White Gods from the north. Their leader had hair so red it seemed to be almost on fire. (In celebration of their visit, some pottery pieces were painted with a picture of a Viking head and his ship. The White Gods/Vikings promised to return. Five hundred years later, the great Aztec chief, Montezuma II, and his priests assumed the Spanish invaders were those returning Gods. So did the Mayans. After their conquest by the Spanish, many of the Mayan priests took up residence in a few of the larger cave systems. There they continued to practice in private all their traditional ceremonies, except for human sacrifices, which no longer had purpose. To some of the priests, their Spanish-catholic conquerors insisting on their acceptance of the sacrificial death of Christ on the cross was most disturbing. It seemed to them that the sacrifice of Christ that created the religion of their conquerors meant their own human sacrifices had not been as acceptable to their gods. As more and more Mayans escaped the Spanish by hiding in the caves, the marvels of the lower levels of the Lol- Tun caves were discovered.
From their own ‘hand me down’ history, these present-day Mayans knew of the significance of the animal bones. Ceremonies dedicated to their ancestors were often held in the ‘Chamber of Great Animal Bones’. Because of the maze of passages throughout the lower levels, only a few known passages were used by the Mayans. Shortly after the Spanish conquest, several hundred Mayans and a few priests descended into what they believed was a land of artificial light and plentiful water and fish stocks. Even plant life was alleged to be abundant. Carrying only provisions of food, water and seeds for planting, they descended out of sight and were never seen again. They are believed to have found a paradise below the earth and to be thriving there today. Yet, it became a taboo to try to follow those that descended, as they are considered the ‘chosen’ ones. As to why the Mayan calendar ends in 2012, the priests simply stated, “that is the end of the Mayan civilization.”
A number of cave visitors and explorers have actually disappeared into the maze of tunnels in the lower levels of the Lol- Tun cave system. The lower levels have been closed to tourists for several years. As a parting gift to Dorris Andre, the Mayan priests gave her a set of ceremonial bowls that had once been used in a human sacrifice. One of the bowls bears the unmistakable likeness of a Viking head and Viking long boat. There is believed to be human DNA in one of the bowls. A strange faced (God?) protrudes from one of the pieces, with hands linked behind his head. The pottery pieces were inherited from Dorris Andre by George Riddle and sold to the present owners in November 2001.
In an interview with the author in the late 1980s, Dorris Andre was asked why the 1962 Williamson expedition never received any publicity. She replied, “George (Williamson) never completed his book on the expedition. He did send the National Geographic some photos, which I believe they did publish later in 1962 or ’63. George was not very popular with the ranking anthropologists, who usually discredited whatever he wrote. I understand Dr. Valentine mentions the expedition in one of his books, but I have not read it myself. I do believe if Professor Vincente had ever written a book on the history of the Mayans, it would be quite different from the anthropology version.”
In 1986, Dorris’s son was murdered. Only his head was recovered and he is believed to have been murdered by Satanists he was trying to expose. At the time of his death, he was in possession of some of the photographic documentation of the expedition. These slides and 16 mm footage were never found. Only the photos sent to National Geographic magazine and the pottery pieces remain to document this most meaningful expedition.
(Sources : Atlantis Rising Magazine No.38 (The Lol-Tun Cave Mystery : Do The Vast Caverns of Belize Hold Secrets of Human Origins? by Ron Libert); and http://www.tourbymexico.com/yucatan/loltun/loltun.htm)
(Pics sources : Atlantis Rising Magazine No.38 page 36;
http://wikitravel.org/upload/shared//thumb/9/91/Lol_Tun_Caves_Yucatan_Mexico.JPG/250px-Lol_Tun_Caves_Yucatan_Mexico.JPG)
From Classic (150 - 900 A.D.) and Post classic (900 A.D. to 16th century) can be observed cultural features such as mural paintings representing hands, faces, animals, geometric motifs and inscriptions; "haltunes" or artificial containers carved in the rock for gathering natural dripping water (suhuy-ha); as well as many petroglyphs, standing out those with flower motifs, which gave the name to the cavern. There are also 19th century barricades constructed by rebel Mayas who sheltered in this and other southern Yucatan caves during the so called "War of Castes".
In March, 1962, a small expedition headed by explorer/ author George Hunt Williamson, was reportedly guided by Mayan priests into a number of lower-level chambers. Dorris Andre, the wife of George Van Tassell (builder of the worldfamous Integetron Building) was the only woman in the party. The expedition’s Mayan language interpreter, Professor Vincente, was impressed with Dorris’s great interest in Mayan history and soon the Mayan priests themselves accepted her as a white Shaman. In recognition of the spiritual aura they saw in her persona, she was told a most insightful history of the area’s Mayan population.
Afterward, she and the rest of the party were guided to a chamber with a luminous fossilized ceiling. There, to their amazement, they later reported that they found the skeletal remains of woolly mammoths, large (sabertoothed?) tigers and bison—a virtual museum of Ice Age large, upper North American animals. Williamson and Dr. J. Manson Valentine would later debate how these extinct northern climate animals came to be in this southern Yucatan graveyard. The most logical theory (though thoroughly unacceptable to most anthropologists): the southern Yucatan was once located near present-day Newfoundland— before a pole shift. This is the story told by the Mayan priests: There once was a great movement of the earth’s surface, causing oceans to overrun their basins and flood all land. A great civilization was destroyed, with survivors clinging to floating debris. Despite the heavy rains that followed for many days, the survivors were ‘carried’ by winds and current to the shoreline below the Yucatan. (The priests literally pointed in a southward direction—toward present day Belize. The proof that this area is the genesis of the early Mayan civilization lies under the jungle floor in Belize. Over one hundred population centers/cities have been geographically mapped and are under the protection of the Belize government.)
In approximately 989 A.D., The Aztecs and Mayans in close proximity to the Atlantic Ocean were visited by White Gods from the north. Their leader had hair so red it seemed to be almost on fire. (In celebration of their visit, some pottery pieces were painted with a picture of a Viking head and his ship. The White Gods/Vikings promised to return. Five hundred years later, the great Aztec chief, Montezuma II, and his priests assumed the Spanish invaders were those returning Gods. So did the Mayans. After their conquest by the Spanish, many of the Mayan priests took up residence in a few of the larger cave systems. There they continued to practice in private all their traditional ceremonies, except for human sacrifices, which no longer had purpose. To some of the priests, their Spanish-catholic conquerors insisting on their acceptance of the sacrificial death of Christ on the cross was most disturbing. It seemed to them that the sacrifice of Christ that created the religion of their conquerors meant their own human sacrifices had not been as acceptable to their gods. As more and more Mayans escaped the Spanish by hiding in the caves, the marvels of the lower levels of the Lol- Tun caves were discovered.
From their own ‘hand me down’ history, these present-day Mayans knew of the significance of the animal bones. Ceremonies dedicated to their ancestors were often held in the ‘Chamber of Great Animal Bones’. Because of the maze of passages throughout the lower levels, only a few known passages were used by the Mayans. Shortly after the Spanish conquest, several hundred Mayans and a few priests descended into what they believed was a land of artificial light and plentiful water and fish stocks. Even plant life was alleged to be abundant. Carrying only provisions of food, water and seeds for planting, they descended out of sight and were never seen again. They are believed to have found a paradise below the earth and to be thriving there today. Yet, it became a taboo to try to follow those that descended, as they are considered the ‘chosen’ ones. As to why the Mayan calendar ends in 2012, the priests simply stated, “that is the end of the Mayan civilization.”
A number of cave visitors and explorers have actually disappeared into the maze of tunnels in the lower levels of the Lol- Tun cave system. The lower levels have been closed to tourists for several years. As a parting gift to Dorris Andre, the Mayan priests gave her a set of ceremonial bowls that had once been used in a human sacrifice. One of the bowls bears the unmistakable likeness of a Viking head and Viking long boat. There is believed to be human DNA in one of the bowls. A strange faced (God?) protrudes from one of the pieces, with hands linked behind his head. The pottery pieces were inherited from Dorris Andre by George Riddle and sold to the present owners in November 2001.
In an interview with the author in the late 1980s, Dorris Andre was asked why the 1962 Williamson expedition never received any publicity. She replied, “George (Williamson) never completed his book on the expedition. He did send the National Geographic some photos, which I believe they did publish later in 1962 or ’63. George was not very popular with the ranking anthropologists, who usually discredited whatever he wrote. I understand Dr. Valentine mentions the expedition in one of his books, but I have not read it myself. I do believe if Professor Vincente had ever written a book on the history of the Mayans, it would be quite different from the anthropology version.”
In 1986, Dorris’s son was murdered. Only his head was recovered and he is believed to have been murdered by Satanists he was trying to expose. At the time of his death, he was in possession of some of the photographic documentation of the expedition. These slides and 16 mm footage were never found. Only the photos sent to National Geographic magazine and the pottery pieces remain to document this most meaningful expedition.
(Sources : Atlantis Rising Magazine No.38 (The Lol-Tun Cave Mystery : Do The Vast Caverns of Belize Hold Secrets of Human Origins? by Ron Libert); and http://www.tourbymexico.com/yucatan/loltun/loltun.htm)
(Pics sources : Atlantis Rising Magazine No.38 page 36;
http://wikitravel.org/upload/shared//thumb/9/91/Lol_Tun_Caves_Yucatan_Mexico.JPG/250px-Lol_Tun_Caves_Yucatan_Mexico.JPG)
Thanks for sharing this to us, Tripzibit. The photo is really wonderful. And I learned something, too.
ReplyDeletehello,,,greetings of peace friend! your site is very beautiful and informative! would you mind if we exchange links friend?^__^
ReplyDeleteI think this would be a much more compelling story if there was much evidence for the "lower cave" artifacts, bones and statues... but I've never found information that corroborates much more than the 19th century fortifications and some carvings... there seem to be no pictures extant of anything else, and the caves get linked to all manner of assorted legends- duende, ancient aliens (natch), and the aforementioned "paradise" are all examples... yet, somehow, no evidence of any of this has been brought forward, which is interesting (and points to hoax, honestly).
ReplyDelete@Thanatomaton: So far there is no photographic evidence that related with the lower cave. However there is evidence like recovered bones of mammoth, cats and other animals and hand painting on the wall (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Loltun_Cave)
ReplyDeletePlease don't put your website link in Comment section. This is for discussion article related only. Thank you :)