An Assessment of Water Resources at Chichen Itza

Summary

This is an abstract from the "Studies in Mesoamerican Subterranean Archaeology" session, at the 84th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology.

Water has long been recognized as a critical but scarce resource in the Yucatan. At Chichen Itza, water resources have not received the attention they deserve. Traditionally, because of the focus on the Sacred Cenote, the Cenote Xtoloc became by default the profane cenote. Clearly, such a simplistic and culture-bound dichotomy tells us little. Guillermo de Anda’s investigation of the Cenote Holtun and Cenote Kanjuyum fundamentally expanded and changed our appreciation of water and cenotes. The goal of the Gran Acuífero Maya project is to study the site of Chichen Itza in relation to its subterranean water resources. Utilizing recent advancements in Geographic Information Systems, this paper is a preliminary attempt to identify and illustrate a far ampler view of the resources available. In addition, this paper will show the polity’s formal appropriation of these features through the construction of sacbeob, or formalized paths, connecting them to the site core.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Studies in Mesoamerican Subterranean Archaeology   •
• Society for American Archaeology 84th Annual Meeting, Albuquerque, NM (2019)

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Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 25427