A chultun (plural: ''chultunob
''' or ''chultuns'') is a bottle-shaped underground storage chamber built by the
pre-Columbian Maya in southern
Mesoamerica. Their entrances were surrounded by plastered aprons which guided rainwater into them during the rainy seasons. Most of these archaeological features likely functioned as
cistern
A cistern (Middle English ', from Latin ', from ', "box", from Greek ', "basket") is a waterproof receptacle for holding liquids, usually water. Cisterns are often built to catch and store rainwater. Cisterns are distinguished from wells by t ...
s for
potable water
Drinking water is water that is used in drink or food preparation; potable water is water that is safe to be used as drinking water. The amount of drinking water required to maintain good health varies, and depends on physical activity level, ag ...
.
Chultunob' were typically constructed in locations where naturally occurring ''
cenotes'' were absent (such as the
Puuc hills
Puuc is the name of either a region in the Mexican state of Yucatán or a Maya architectural style prevalent in that region. The word ''puuc'' is derived from the Maya term for "hill". Since the Yucatán is relatively flat, this term was ext ...
, which sit hundreds of feet above the
Yucatán Peninsula aquifer). While many were constructed to collect water, not all may have served that purpose. Some chultuns may have been used for storage of perishable
comestibles or for the fermentation of alcoholic beverages. Experimental research conducted in the 1960s by Mayanist
Dennis E. Puleston
Dennis E. Puleston Ph.D (19 June 1940 – 29 June 1978Harrison, P.D.; Messenger, P.E. (1980). "Obituary: Dennis E. Puleston". American Antiquity 45 (2): 272-276.) was an American archaeologist and ecologist. Puleston archaeology, biologyecology ...
demonstrated that chultuns around
Tikal were particularly effective for long-term storage of ramon nuts (
Brosimum alicastrum
''Brosimum alicastrum'', commonly known as the breadnut or ramon, is a tree species in the family Moraceae of flowering plants, whose other genera include Ficus, figs and mulberry, mulberries. The plant is known by a range of names in Mesoamer ...
).
After a chultun ended its usefulness, many were used for discarding refuse or for human burials. This makes chultunob' an excellent source of information on both the life and death of ancient settlements of the Prehispanic Maya.
See also
*
Americas (terminology)
*
Indigenous peoples of Mexico
*
Indigenous peoples of the Americas
*
Mesoamerican region
Notes
External links
*
Mesoamerican Photo Archives: click on "chultun" for more info
Maya civilization
Mesoamerican architecture
Water supply infrastructure
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