A cenote is used to describe a natural sinkhole, or pit, resulting from the collapse of limestone bedrock to expose the groundwater below. There are around 6,000 cenotes in the Yucatán area, in the Mexican state renowned for its beautiful beaches and Mayan ruins.
The cenote water is usually crystal clear, as it comes from rainwater that has percolated through the limestone. This process removes any particulates, leaving the water clean. There are few rivers and lakes in Yucatán, so the cenotes were a source of fresh water for the Mayan people.
© Patryk Kosmider / Adobe Stock
History of the pools
Archaeologists exploring the pools have found some rather disturbing artefacts beneath the water, such as human bones and skulls. The Sacred Cenote, the most impressive ritual pool at Chichén Itzá, is 60 feet across and is surrounded by spectacular sheer cliffs, which begin around 27 metres below the surface of the water.
The ancient Maya people, who had populated the region from around 420 AD, would go to the Sacred Cenote as a place of pilgrimage. They would also make human sacrifices to the gods by throwing them into the pool. The oldest skeleton unearthed was dated, using radiocarbon, at 13,600 years old.
A historic document, describing the Mayan practice of human sacrifices, was written by the Spanish Roman Catholic bishop, Friar Diego de Landa, who led a bitter persecution of the Mayan people in the 16th century, as part of his campaign against the worship of idols.
After visiting Chichén Itzá in 1566, he described the "custom of throwing men alive" into the sacred pool as a sacrifice to the gods. In times of drought, the sacrifice was made to the god of rain and water, Chaac.
The perpetrators believed the men they threw in didn't drown, although they were never seen again. They were believed to have been taken by the gods - a theory disproved in modern times by the discovery of human bones at the bottom of the pool.
De Landa also reported how other items - such as precious stones and people's most prized possessions - were thrown into the cenote pools, in the hope the gods would look favourably on the Mayans.
Discovering the pools
Archaeological expeditions that took place during the 20th century discovered the cenote ritual pools and their contents. The first and largest expedition took place in 1904, under the leadership of the American archaeologist, Edward Herbert Thompson.
He began dredging the Chichén Itzá after he received funding from Stephen Salisbury III, who was a Harvard graduate whose father was a wealthy landowner. This enabled Thompson to complete a thorough exploration of the excavation site, including the cenote.
He kept documented evidence of his findings and research, which is on display at the Peabody Museum at Harvard University today. Dredging the cenote wasn't easy without the benefits of modern equipment. Debris and fallen trees were removed from the pool first.
Dredging was carried out using a bucket attached to a pulley. Ten hauls were made in the morning and eight in the afternoon. Everyone searched through the contents of the buckets, checking for artefacts and categorising them as they appeared.
Thompson took a break from dredging after his major expedition of 1904. Then, a lack of finances hindered his efforts following Salisbury's death in 1905. The Mexican Revolution further hampered his work.
In 1909, he decided to dive in the cenote for the first time, exploring the floor of the pool. He was aided by two Greek divers. However, in the days before the benefits of modern diving equipment, Thompson felt it was too hazardous and he didn't attempt it again.
Although he tried to carry on with his work for as long as possible, a fire at his home, which destroyed some of his notes, hastened his decision to end his archaeological work on the cenotes in 1923.
Major finds
Two further expeditions to investigate the cenotes took place in the 1960s. William Folan launched an expedition in 1961, on behalf of the Instituto Nacional de Antropologia e Historia, a Mexican government bureau. It was a success, with some memorable items discovered beneath the water.
These included a large knife with a wooden handle and an inscribed bone, both of which were in gold sheaths, and also wooden ear flares decorated with turquoise and jade mosaic. An ear flare was an item of prestigious Mayan jewellery, denoting the wearer's social status.
A further expedition was organised in 1967 and 1968 by Román Piña Chán and Norman Scott. They tried out new methods of looking for artefacts, including draining 13 feet of water from the cenote to search it away from the pool. However, they were over-ambitious and not particularly successful.
Many artefacts made from gold, pottery, jade, flint, wood, shell, cloth and rubber were found over the course of all the expeditions. The cenote had preserved items such as weapons, ancient tools and jewellery. The majority of jewellery was made from jade. Archaeologists said that the presence of jade, copper and gold proved that Chichén Itzá was an important cultural city centre.
Latest discoveries
Intrepid explorers are still searching for new cenotes today. The most recent expedition, earlier in 2019, was organised by archaeologists Francisco Estrada Belli and Guillermo De Anda. It is the subject of the current documentary series, Lost Treasures of the Maya, on the National Geographic TV channel.
De Anda explores newly-discovered submerged caves, near to the city of Chichén Itzá. He is the first person to explore them and he believes they may lead to a hidden sacred cenote, underneath the great pyramid, El Castillo. The expedition is exploring the possibility that the city was built at the location solely because there was a cenote beneath the pyramid.
Diving expeditions
Today, the pools are becoming a major tourist attraction, with snorkelling and scuba diving among the popular activities that take place there. For adventurers diving in a sacred Maya cave, the excitement is not knowing what they might find.
Photographer Paul Nicklen and underwater archaeologist De Anda have explored the cenotes in the past, including in 2013, when they found Maya pottery and human bones.
Tourism chiefs in Mexico’s Yucatán peninsula are keen to preserve the character of the ritual pools, so they are striking a fine balance between attracting visitors, while also retaining the natural heritage. The Yucatán's Ring of Cenotes is a UNESCO World Heritage site, emphasising its value to the local culture.
The Yucatán has grown as a tropical tourism destination in the 21st century, with the Riviera Maya and Cancun providing a 25-mile-long coastal stretch of pristine beaches, including Playa del Carmen and Tulum.
The region attracted 16.9 million visitors in 2017, an increase of 5.3% from the previous year. Around 40% of all tourists to the peninsula are visiting the sacred cenotes.
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