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Chichén Itzá - The Sweat Bath

by Dorothy and Bill Bell

There are a number of steam baths in Chichen Itza.

Sweat baths were used for cleanliness, healing and spiritual purification and sometimes as a place to induce visions by Mayan leaders, clerics and nobility. They were also used in ceremony to purify and appease the Gods.

Constructed of stone walls and ceilings, they had a steam "chimney" to let the vapors out. Water was poured onto hot rocks producing steam. The baths had seats, drainage lines, ventalation and sometimes a waiting area. They were often located near to ball courts.

 
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