The relationship between these living spiritual practices and the archaeological evidence of ancient Maya religion is not straightforward.

Some elements of continuity are apparent — the continuing importance of cenotes and other water sources in ritual practice, for example, or the persistence of the 260-day calendar, or the maintenance of specific cosmological concepts about the structure of the universe and the role of ancestors.

But the colonial suppression of Maya religion was also genuine and had real effects, disrupting the transmission of specific knowledge and practices in ways that mean that the living tradition is not simply a direct continuation of the pre-contact tradition.

Living Maya spiritual practitioners are among the voices that deserve to be heard in discussions about the interpretation of the ancient evidence.