Cenotes — the natural sinkholes that open into the cave system from the surface — were the primary source of fresh water for human settlements throughout the pre-Columbian period.

The great Mayan cities that flourished across the Yucatán and the broader Mesoamerican region were built in relationship to cenote water.

The cenote at Chichén Itzá — the Sacred Cenote, roughly sixty meters across and twenty meters deep — was one of the most important ritual sites in the Maya world.

Objects of jade, gold, and copper were deposited in it as offerings.

Human remains have been recovered from it as well, representing individuals who were placed in the cenote as part of ritual practices whose specific nature is still debated by researchers.