Chicxulub Crater
Although cenotes are found widely throughout much of the Yucatan Peninsula, a higher density circular alignment of cenotes overlies the measured rim of the Chicxulub Crater. This crater structure, identified from the alignment of cenotes, but also subsequently mapped using geophysical methods (including gravity mapping) and also drilled into with core recovery, has been dated to the boundary between the Cretaceous and Paleogene periods, 65 million years ago. This meteorite impact at the Cretaceous-Paleogene boundary is therefore associated with the mass extinction of the dinosaurs, and is also known as the Cretaceous-Paleogene extinction event.
Sacrificial sites
The Yucatan Peninsula has almost no rivers and only a few lakes, and those are often marshy. The widely distributed cenotes are the only perennial source of potable quality water and have long been the principal sources of water in much of the Yucatan Peninsula. Major Maya settlements required access to adequate water supplies, and therefore cities, including the famous Chichen Itza, were built around these natural wells. Some cenotes like the Sacred Cenote in Chichen Itza played an important role in Maya rites. Believing that these pools were gateways to the afterlife, the Maya sometimes threw valuable items into them. The discovery of golden sacrificial artifacts in some cenotes led to the archaeological exploration of most cenotes in the first part of the 20th century. Edward Herbert Thompson, an American diplomat who had bought the Chichen Itza site, began dredging the Sacred Cenote there in 1904. He discovered human skeletons and sacrificial objects confirming a local legend, the Cult of the Cenote, involving human sacrifice to the rain god Chaac by ritual casting of victims and objects into the cenote. The remains of this cultural heritage have a great historical and scientific value. They are protected by the UNESCO Convention on the Protection of the Underwater Cultural Heritage.
