The children in the chultún were interred over a period of centuries.

Multiple generations of people at Chichén Itzá participated in the practice that brought them there, opening the underground space for new interments and closing it again, maintaining the space across the succession of political and religious leadership that characterized any city over the course of centuries.

The city itself lasted longer than the specific ritual practice may have — Chichén Itzá’s occupation and political significance extended well into the Postclassic period, even as the great Terminal Classic building program gave way to different architectural and political arrangements.

The chultún’s centuries of use overlapped with some of the most active periods of the city’s development, connecting the underground space to the broader history of a city at the height of its regional importance.