Fair Warning
Mayans preformed human sacrifice in caves and the victim's bones and skulls remain.
This page contains images of a human skull. If this bothers you, we do have a page on Barton Creek with no bone photos you may prefer.
General Information
We have placed our skull photo on this page to keep it separate from the other Barton Creek photos since this is certainly not something for everyone. Caves were sacred at the time that the population performed human sacrifice. I think I recall the guide saying that 20 skulls had been found in Barton Creek Cave.
If you go to Barton Creek Cave, you will go with a guide and paddle canoes, carry big flashlights, and follow the cave a little ways in and then turn around and paddle back out. On this path there are bats, interesting cave formations, formations we had to duck under while paddling, ancient pottery, and a skull that the guide stopped to show us and explain the historic culture. If you take this tour, this will likely be something the guide stops at and points out.
The Skull
Caves were an entry way into the World Beyond when one died (Xibalba), as the Mayans believed. Knowing this makes sense when you find Mayan artifacts and human remains in the caves. On this trip, very few artifacts can be seen compared to what may exist in the cave system. Only a short part of the cave is traveled, and some items displayed were moved in position to be seen from the boats. The artifacts consist of some pots and a skull.