The Los Sapos sweat bath was an active part of the Xultun community for about 300 years. What we see at Xultun is an example where this reptilian goddess, as well as the ideas and myths she embodied, are expressed as a physical place.” “Linking notions of birth to reptilian figures, however, is not uncommon among the Classic Maya as they express the verb ‘to birth’ as an upended reptilian mouth glyph. “Although this goddess’ name remains undeciphered, proposed readings suggest she was responsible for gestation cycles, both of time and human life,” said Boston University archaeologist Mary Clarke, main author of the study. “It would seem that when someone enters the front of the structure, they are entering the amphibian goddess who personified the sweat bath.” “No other structure in Mesoamerica–sweat bath or otherwise–looks like this building,” said STRI archaeologist Ashley Sharpe, co-author of the study. Outside the sweat bath, the scientists encountered a representation of this little-known Classic Maya deity, possibly “ix.tzutz.sak.” The goddess is depicted squatting in a toad-like position with legs ornamented with iguanas and cane toads (Rhinella marina).

Dating to the Early Classic period (250-550 A.D.), the sweat bath at Xultun, named Los Sapos, appears to have been embodied by an amphibian goddess. This was certainly the case for the Classic Maya. Indigenous people of Mesoamerica see the natural world as a place populated by ancestors and supernatural beings, many of whom live within natural features and ancient buildings. At the site of Xultun, Guatemala, a Classic Maya sweat bath with an unusual collection of artifacts led archaeologists from the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute (STRI), the Archaeology Program at Boston University and other collaborating institutions to gather new evidence of these beliefs and an early example of the related ritual practices. Commonly used by midwives in postpartum and perinatal care in contemporary Maya communities, these structures are viewed as grandmother figures, a pattern that can also be traced to earlier periods of history. Sweat baths have a long history of use in Mesoamerica.

New evidence found of the ritual significance of a classic Maya sweat bath in Guatemala by the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute The remains of a juvenile skeleton were recovered from the steam house offering, suggesting an early understanding of the structure as a place of human birth and creation.

Ancient baths glyph