Chultun

Their entrances were surrounded by plastered aprons which guided rainwater into them during the rainy seasons.

Chultunob' were typically constructed in locations where naturally occurring cenotes[1] were absent (such as the Puuc hills, which sit hundreds of feet above the Yucatán Peninsula aquifer).

Experimental research conducted in the 1960s by Mayanist Dennis E. Puleston demonstrated that chultúns around Tikal were particularly effective for long-term storage of ramon nuts (Brosimum alicastrum).

[2] Associated with water, rain, and child sacrifice, chultunob' are widely viewed as points of access to the Maya underworld.

[3] This makes chultunob' an excellent source of information on both the life and death of ancient settlements of the Prehispanic Maya.