The Spanish invaders of Mexico called them cenotes. This came from a mishearing of the Maya word tz’onot, which was used to describe great circular sinkholes that dropped down to inviting pools of freshwater. In a region where groundwater is scarce, these natural wells were a magnet for Maya settlements. As well as providing a vital source of drinking water, the cenotes were woven into Maya beliefs. A fine example comes from the sprawling city of Chichén Itzá, which was carefully positioned to benefit from nearby cenotes. One of them, the Sacred Cenote, was connected to the Great Plaza at the heart of the city by a ceremonial way. A 16th-century Franciscan bishop, Diego de Landa, recorded that a range of offerings were made there: ‘into this well they have had… the custom of throwing men alive as a sacrifice to the gods, in times of drought… They also threw into it a great many other things, like precious stones and things that they prized.’ Sure enough, investigation of the cenote in the 20th century revealed human remains, and a wealth of artefacts, including wooden idols, pottery, jade, and ornate gold discs.
Cenotes are created when the ground surface collapses into underground cavities, exposing the water table below. While the size of these natural wells can be impressive, with the Sacred Cenote measuring about 60m in diameter, this pales by comparison with the wider expanse of caves lying beneath the Yucatán Peninsula. This natural network is still being explored and charted, so its full extent remains unknown. Even so, it is clear that the scale of this underground realm is nothing short of extraordinary. Recent work by the Great Maya Aquifer project has revealed that one cave system, known as the Sac Actun or White Cave, stretches for over 350km. This project is dedicated to learning more about all aspects of this breathtaking submerged world. While the water within it remains essential for the modern inhabitants of the Yucatán, these sunken passages also hold evidence for thousands of years of human activity in the area. The project’s work is revealing not only fascinating new glimpses of Maya life, but also the world inhabited by some of the earliest human occupants of what is now Mexico.
Final frontier
‘I always say that this is the last frontier of exploration of pristine places left in the world, apart from the oceans,’ says Guillermo de Anda, director of the Great Maya Aquifer project. ‘That is one way of getting across how important this area is. It is an amazing experience to work there – completely magical – because it is like a planet within a planet. As much of the cave system is submerged, it is a place where you need special equipment, special training, and a special attitude to be able to explore it. In some ways it is like an astronaut going to outer space, but in our case we are charting an inner space. And it is an inner space that is so vast that there is still plenty underneath the ground waiting to be discovered and documented. Putting together everything that has been mapped so far gives us 1,650km of caves.’
Salt of the earth