3The Historical Significance
The word “cenote” has its roots in the ancient Yucatec Mayan word “dzonot” which means “well” in English. Before the creation of today’s modern technology, the people who lived there knew the significance of these numerous freshwater sinkholes. Indeed, The ancient Mayans were reported to be one of the Mesoamerican continent’s “most advanced indigenous civilizations.”
They relocated to the Yucatan sometime between 500 BCE and 250 CE. The Yucatan was generally devoid of lakes and rivers. Thus, cenotes were their source of fresh water.
The Mayans built a sophisticated society around cenotes as the sheer number of them were able to sustain sizable settlements. Between 300 and 900 CE, the largest cities they built, like Uxmal and Chichen Itza, were founded close to several cenotes. Mayapan, another example, was located roughly 100 kilometers west of the city of Chichen Itza. Its city walls contained over 40 cenotes that provided fresh water for as many as 17,000 residents.
Not only were cenotes vital for survival but they were also a significant part of the civilization’s religious belief system. The Mayans thought cenotes were sacred and were also an actual gateway to the underworld or Xibalba. Chaacc, the god of rain, supposedly lived at the bottom of the wells.
Mayans also held ceremonies and performed rituals at sacred cenotes praying for good groups and rainfall. The most well-known one is aptly named the Sacred Cenote located close to Chichen Itza, in the northwest region of the peninsula. Modern-day archaeologists have discovered pottery, and gold and jade artifacts.
They even found human remains within its depths with ancient injuries that serve as evidence of human sacrifice. Of course, present-day Mayan culture no longer includes human sacrifices. Nevertheless, many of the ancient Mayan descendants reportedly continue to “pay their respects” to the old mythical residents of the cenotes.
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