Crossing the Watery Threshold: Multidisciplinary Investigation of Funerary Cenote Use Among the Postclassic Maya of Mayapán

Summary

This is an abstract from the "Black as Night, Dark as Death: Bioarchaeology of the Mesoamerican Subterranean" session, at the 90th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology.

Cenotes are prominent features of the landscape of the Yucatan Peninsula. Among Maya populations, cenotes served, and continue to serve, varied purposes. Mayapán, a regional Postclassic (ca. 1150-1450 AD) Maya capital and urban center on the northwestern plains of the Yucatan Peninsula, contains a large number of cenotes, which may have been a factor in its initial settlement. Over 40 cenotes have been investigated by archaeologists within the walled boundary of Mayapán, while additional examples have been identified in the site’s footprint that extended beyond its walls. In this presentation, we explore the functions of two enigmatic cenotes that stand out for the presence of large quantities of submerged human skeletal remains. We examine the results of underwater survey, local settlement patterns and associated material culture in the vicinities of these two cenotes, as well as data from the remains themselves, including osteology, radiocarbon dates, paleodiet and geographic origin. We integrate archaeological and bioarchaeological evidence to reconstruct the identities of the ancestors who were selected for placement here. We situate this evidence in the broader site and regional context, and discuss the significance of these two cenotes to contemporary populations.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Society for American Archaeology 90th Annual Meeting, Denver, CO (2025)   •
• Black as Night, Dark as Death: Bioarchaeology of the Mesoamerican Subterranean

Keywords

Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 50193