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68-480: According to both Maya and Spanish post-Conquest sources, pre-Columbian Maya deposited valuables and human bodies into the cenote as a form of sacrifice to the rain god Chaac . Edward Herbert Thompson dredged the Cenote Sagrado from 1904 to 1910, and recovered artifacts of gold , jade , pottery , and incense , as well as human remains. Beginning in the 1950s several Mexican-driven projects were conducted in

136-419: A Cretaceous welded tuff and a partially devitrified Ordovician perlite . This transformation of obsidian is accelerated by the presence of water. Although newly formed obsidian has a low water content, typically less than 1% water by weight, it becomes progressively hydrated when exposed to groundwater , forming perlite . Pure obsidian is usually dark in appearance, though the color varies depending on

204-635: A relative dating system, obsidian hydration dating , to calculate the age of obsidian artifacts . Obsidian artifacts first appeared in the European continent in Central Europe in the Middle Paleolithic and had become common by the Upper Paleolithic , although there are exceptions to this. Obsidian played an important role in the transmission of Neolithic knowledge and experiences . The material

272-551: A Roman explorer. Obsidian is formed from quickly cooled lava , which is the parent material . Extrusive formation of obsidian may occur when felsic lava cools rapidly at the edges of a felsic lava flow or volcanic dome, or when lava cools during sudden contact with water or air. Intrusive formation of obsidian may occur when felsic lava cools along the edges of a dike . Tektites were once thought by many to be obsidian produced by lunar volcanic eruptions, though few scientists now adhere to this hypothesis . Obsidian

340-449: A cavern dive into a cave dive. Contrary to cenote cavern diving, cenote cave diving requires special equipment and training (certification for cave diving). However, both cavern and cave diving require detailed briefings, diving experience, and weight adjustment to freshwater buoyancy. The cenotes are usually filled with rather cool fresh water. Cenote divers must be wary of possible halocline ; this produces blurred vision until they reach

408-602: A collapse of limestone bedrock exposes groundwater . The term originated on the Yucatán Peninsula of Mexico, where the ancient Maya commonly used cenotes for water supplies, and occasionally for sacrificial offerings . The name derives from a word used by the lowland Yucatec Maya — tsʼonoʼot —to refer to any location with accessible groundwater. In Mexico the Yucatán Peninsula alone has an estimated 10,000 cenotes, water-filled sinkholes naturally formed by

476-545: A culture or place can be of considerable use to reconstruct commerce, production, and distribution, and thereby understand economic, social and political aspects of a civilization. This is the case in Yaxchilán , a Maya city where even warfare implications have been studied linked with obsidian use and its debris. Another example is the archeological recovery at coastal Chumash sites in California, indicating considerable trade with

544-451: A distinguishable type of obsidian allowing archaeologists to use methods such as non-destructive energy dispersive X-ray fluorescence to select minor element compositions from both the artifact and geological sample to trace the origins of a particular artifact. Similar tracing techniques have also allowed obsidian in Greece to be identified as coming from Milos , Nisyros or Gyali , islands in

612-497: A high level of sophistication by the late Neolithic, and was traded as far as Sicily, the southern Po river valley, and Croatia. Obsidian bladelets were used in ritual circumcisions and cutting of umbilical cords of newborns. Anatolian sources of obsidian are known to have been the material used in the Levant and modern-day Iraqi Kurdistan from a time beginning sometime about 12,500 BC. Obsidian artifacts are common at Tell Brak , one of

680-416: A list of the longest and deepest water-filled and dry caves within the state boundaries. When cavern diving, one must be able to see natural light the entire time that one is exploring the cavern (e.g., Kukulkan cenote near Tulum , Mexico). During a cave dive, one passes the point where daylight can penetrate, and one follows a safety guideline to exit the cave. Things change quite dramatically once moving from

748-454: A more homogeneous area. Cave dive sites: Obsidian Obsidian ( / ə b ˈ s ɪ d i . ən , ɒ b -/ əb- SID -ee-ən ob- ) is a naturally occurring volcanic glass formed when lava extruded from a volcano cools rapidly with minimal crystal growth . It is an igneous rock . Produced from felsic lava, obsidian is rich in the lighter elements such as silicon , oxygen , aluminum, sodium , and potassium . It

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816-470: A rock overhanging above the water. The stereotypical cenotes often resemble small circular ponds , measuring some tens of meters in diameter with sheer rock walls. Most cenotes, however, require some degree of stooping or crawling to access the water. In the north and northwest of the Yucatán Peninsula in Mexico, the cenotes generally overlie vertical voids penetrating 50 to 100 m (160 to 330 ft) below

884-436: A section of Sistema Aktun Hu (part of Sistema Sac Actun ) known as the pit Hoyo Negro . At a depth of 57 m (187 ft) the divers located the remains of a mastodon and a human skull (at 43 m [141 ft]) that might be the oldest evidence of human habitation in the region. The Yucatán Peninsula has almost no rivers and only a few lakes, and those are often marshy. The widely distributed cenotes are

952-630: A site in the western Negev in Israel. Eight obsidian artifacts dating to the Chalcolithic Age found at this site were traced to obsidian sources in Anatolia . Neutron activation analysis (NAA) on the obsidian found at this site helped to reveal trade routes and exchange networks previously unknown. Lithic analysis helps to understand pre-Hispanic groups in Mesoamerica . A careful analysis of obsidian in

1020-454: A type of glass knife made using naturally occurring obsidian instead of manufactured glass. Obsidian is used by some surgeons for scalpel blades, although this is not approved by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for use on humans. Well-crafted obsidian blades, like any glass knife, can have a cutting edge many times sharper than high-quality steel surgical scalpels: the cutting edge of

1088-412: A vast coastal aquifer system, which is typically density-stratified. The infiltrating meteoric water (i.e., rainwater) floats on top of higher- density saline water intruding from the coastal margins. The whole aquifer is therefore an anchialine system (one that is land-locked but connected to an ocean). Where a cenote, or the flooded cave to which it is an opening, provides deep enough access into

1156-443: Is 10 to 20 m (33 to 66 ft) below the water table at the coast, and 50 to 100 m (160 to 330 ft) below the water table in the middle of the peninsula, with saline water underlying the whole of the peninsula. In 1936, a simple morphometry-based classification system for cenotes was presented. The classification scheme was based on morphometric observations above the water table, and therefore incompletely reflects

1224-412: Is commonly found within the margins of rhyolitic lava flows known as obsidian flows. These flows have a high content of silica , giving them a high viscosity . The high viscosity inhibits diffusion of atoms through the lava, which inhibits the first step ( nucleation ) in the formation of mineral crystals . Together with rapid cooling, this results in a natural glass forming from the lava. Obsidian

1292-547: Is hard, brittle , and amorphous ; it therefore fractures with sharp edges. In the past, it was used to manufacture cutting and piercing tools, and it has been used experimentally as surgical scalpel blades. The Natural History by the Roman writer Pliny the Elder includes a few sentences about a volcanic glass called obsidian ( lapis obsidianus ), discovered in Ethiopia by Obsidius,

1360-431: Is mineral-like, but not a true mineral because, as a glass, it is not crystalline ; in addition, its composition is too variable to be classified as a mineral. It is sometimes classified as a mineraloid . Though obsidian is usually dark in color, similar to mafic rocks such as basalt , the composition of obsidian is extremely felsic. Obsidian consists mainly of SiO 2 ( silicon dioxide ), usually 70% by weight or more;

1428-696: Is therefore associated with the mass extinction of the non-avian dinosaurs and is also known as the Cretaceous–Paleogene extinction event . In 2001–2002 expeditions led by Arturo H. González and Carmen Rojas Sandoval in the Yucatán discovered three human skeletons; one of them, Eve of Naharon , was carbon-dated to be 13,600 years old. In March 2008, three members of the Proyecto Espeleológico de Tulum and Global Underwater Explorers dive team, Alex Alvarez, Franco Attolini, and Alberto Nava, explored

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1496-633: The Aegean Sea . Obsidian cores and blades were traded great distances inland from the coast. In Chile obsidian tools from Chaitén Volcano have been found as far away as in Chan-Chan 400 km (250 mi) north of the volcano, and also in sites 400 km south of it. The Lapita culture , active across a large area of the Pacific Ocean around 1000 BC, made widespread use of obsidian tools and engaged in long distance obsidian trading. The complexity of

1564-673: The Canary Islands , Turkey and the United States. Obsidian flows which are so large that they can be hiked on are found within the calderas of Newberry Volcano (Big Obsidian Flow, 700 acres) and Medicine Lake Volcano in the Cascade Range of western North America, and at Inyo Craters east of the Sierra Nevada in California. Yellowstone National Park has a mountainside containing obsidian located between Mammoth Hot Springs and

1632-681: The Göllü Dağ volcano were the most important sources in central Anatolia , one of the more important source areas in the prehistoric Near East . The first known archaeological evidence of usage was in Kariandusi (Kenya) and other sites of the Acheulian age (beginning 1.5 million years BP) dated 700,000 BC, although only very few objects have been found at these sites relative to the Neolithic. Manufacture of obsidian bladelets at Lipari had reached

1700-478: The Mexican Revolution , and financial issues began to hinder the work effort and damage the morale of the workers. Thompson’s house in Mexico was also burned down, and one of the chests in which he kept his notes and data was destroyed in the fire. By 1923, Thompson was officially done working on the cenote. In 1909, Thompson decided to dive in the cenote to explore the floors, assisted by two Greek divers from

1768-522: The Norris Geyser Basin , and deposits can be found in many other western U.S. states including Arizona , Colorado , New Mexico , Texas , Utah , and Washington , Oregon and Idaho . There are only four major deposit areas in the central Mediterranean: Lipari , Pantelleria , Palmarola and Monte Arci ( Sardinia ). Ancient sources in the Aegean were Milos and Gyali . Acıgöl town and

1836-683: The UNESCO Convention on the Protection of the Underwater Cultural Heritage . Cenotes have attracted cavern and cave divers, and there are organized efforts to explore and map these underwater systems. They are public or private and sometimes considered "National Natural Parks". Great care should be taken to avoid spoiling this fragile ecosystem when diving. In Mexico, the Quintana Roo Speleological Survey maintains

1904-467: The Bahamas . He reported limited visibility due to the murky water, and many shifting rocks and trees made the dive hazardous. Thompson found a layer about 5 metres (16 ft) thick of blue pigment that had settled on the ground of the cenote. He described the bottom as, “full of long narrow cracks, radiating from centers as if the glass bottom of a dish had been broken by a pointed instrument. We found down in

1972-647: 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 the ritual casting of victims and objects into the cenote. However, not all cenotes were sites of human sacrifice. The cenote at Punta Laguna has been extensively studied and none of the approximately 120 individuals show signs of sacrifice. The remains of this cultural heritage are protected by

2040-466: The afterlife, and home to the rain god, Chaac . The Maya often deposited human remains as well as ceremonial artifacts in these cenotes. 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 (1857–1935), an American diplomat who had bought the Chichen Itza site, began dredging

2108-403: The aquifer, the interface between the fresh and saline water may be reached. The density interface between the fresh and saline waters is a halocline , which means a sharp change in salt concentration over a small change in depth. Mixing of the fresh and saline water results in a blurry swirling effect caused by refraction between the different densities of fresh and saline waters. The depth of

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2176-514: The blade is only about three nanometers thick. All metal knives have a jagged, irregular blade when viewed under a strong enough microscope ; however, obsidian blades are still smooth, even when examined under an electron microscope . One study found that obsidian incisions produced fewer inflammatory cells and less granulation tissue in a group of rats after seven days but the differences disappeared after twenty-one days. Don Crabtree has produced surgical obsidian blades and written articles on

2244-490: The cave roof have collapsed revealing an underlying cave system, and the water flow rates may be much faster: up to 10 kilometers (6 mi) per day. The Yucatan cenotes attract cavern and cave divers who have documented extensive flooded cave systems, some of which have been explored for lengths of 376 km (234 mi) or more. Cenotes are formed by the dissolution of rock and the resulting subsurface void, which may or may not be linked to an active cave system , and

2312-491: The cenote at Chichén Itzá. However, his account does not indicate the regularity of this practice. 20°41′16″N 88°34′04″W  /  20.687708°N 88.567694°W  / 20.687708; -88.567694 Cenote A cenote ( English: / s ɪ ˈ n oʊ t i / or / s ɛ ˈ n oʊ t eɪ / ; Latin American Spanish: [seˈnote] ) is a natural pit , or sinkhole , resulting when

2380-412: The cenote, and in many cases, dozens of miles from the cenotes in which their bodies were eventually deposited. Only a certain set of cenotes were used in this way, while others were reserved for domestic purposes (de Anda 2007). This suggests that Maya religious officiants believed that only certain cenotes led to the underworld, and sacrifices placed in others would serve no purpose. It also suggests that

2448-434: The cenote, including a 1961 project that used an airlift dredge . The northwestern Yucatán Peninsula is a limestone plain, with no rivers or streams, lakes or ponds. The region is pockmarked with natural sinkholes , called cenotes, which expose the water table to the surface. One of the most impressive of these is the Sacred Cenote, which is 60 metres (200 ft) in diameter and surrounded by sheer cliffs that drop to

2516-487: The cenote. Archaeologists have found that many objects show evidence of being intentionally damaged before being thrown into the cenote, and have speculated that this intentional damage is meant to be analogous to “killing” the object as a sacrifice. Certain cenotes contain a large number of human remains, including both males and females, and young children/infants. Evidence from Maya mythology suggests that many young victims (most aged 6 to 12) were male (de Anda, 2007). While

2584-527: The cenote. Some of the notable discoveries included an inscribed, gold-sheathed bone, a large chert knife with a gold-sheathed wooden handle, and wooden ear flares with jade and turquoise mosaic. In 1967-1968, Norman Scott and Román Piña Chán led another expedition. They tried two new methods that many people had suggested for a long time: emptying the water out of the cenote and clarifying the water. Both of these methods were only partially successful. Only about 4 metres (13 ft) of water could be removed, and

2652-415: The cenotes Choo-Ha , Tankach-Ha, and Multum-Ha near Tulum . There are at least 6,000 cenotes in the Yucatán Peninsula of Mexico. Cenote water is often very clear, as the water comes from rain water filtering slowly through the ground, and therefore contains very little suspended particulate matter. The groundwater flow rate within a cenote may be very slow. In many cases, cenotes are areas where sections of

2720-435: The classical images of a female Maya sacrifice being flung alive to drown in a cenote are pervasive, de Anda's (2007) writings on the subject suggest that most sacrificial victims — juveniles who were either purchased or captured while their parents were working in the fields, warriors captured in battle, or elites captured during conflicts with neighboring clans — were usually (though not always) killed prior to being thrown into

2788-408: The collapse of limestone, and located across the peninsula. Some of these cenotes are at risk from the construction of the new tourist Maya Train . Cenotes are common geological forms in low-altitude regions, particularly on islands (such as Cefalonia, Greece), coastlines, and platforms with young post- Paleozoic limestone with little soil development. The term cenote , originally applying only to

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2856-562: The cracks and holes a grayish mud in which were imbedded the heavier gold objects, jades, and copper bells in numbers.” He later proudly proclaimed, “I have at last personally trod the bottom of the Cenote.” In 1961, the Instituto Nacional de Antropologia e Historia (INAH) in conjunction with the National Geographic Society and Club de Exploraciones y Deportes Acauticos de Mexico (CEDAM) conducted another expedition into

2924-495: The distant site of Casa Diablo Hot Springs in the Sierra Nevada . Pre-Columbian Mesoamericans' use of obsidian was extensive and sophisticated; including carved and worked obsidian for tools and decorative objects. Mesoamericans also made a type of sword with obsidian blades mounted in a wooden body. Called a macuahuitl , the weapon could inflict terrible injuries, combining the sharp cutting edge of an obsidian blade with

2992-548: The dredging process is derived from Thompson’s personal notes. Thompson received money from Stephen Salisbury III to help him buy the Chichén Itzá excavation site and explore the cenote. Much of Thompson’s findings and research can be found at the Peabody Museum at Harvard University . A bucket attached to a pulley system was used to dredge the cenote. Much of the beginning work consisted of clearing debris and fallen trees on

3060-496: The earliest Mesopotamian urban centers, dating to the late fifth millennium BC. Obsidian was valued in Stone Age cultures because, like flint , it could be fractured to produce sharp blades or arrowheads in a process called knapping . Like all glass and some other naturally occurring rocks, obsidian breaks with a characteristic conchoidal fracture . It was also polished to create early mirrors . Modern archaeologists have developed

3128-620: The eastern Mediterranean and southern Red Sea regions. Obsidian scalpels older than 2100 BC have been found in a Bronze Age settlement in Turkey. In the eastern Mediterranean area the material was used to make tools, mirrors and decorative objects. The use of obsidian tools was present in Japan near areas of volcanic activity. Obsidian was mined during the Jōmon period . Obsidian has also been found in Gilat ,

3196-795: The features in Yucatán, has since been applied by researchers to similar karst features in other places such as in Cuba , Australia , Europe , and the United States . Cenotes are surface connections to subterranean water bodies. While the best-known cenotes are large open-water pools measuring tens of meters in diameter, such as those at Chichen Itza in Mexico , the greatest number of cenotes are smaller sheltered sites and do not necessarily have any surface exposed water. Some cenotes are only found through small <1 m (3 ft) diameter holes created by tree roots, with human access through enlarged holes, such as

3264-411: The halocline is a function of several factors: climate and specifically how much meteoric water recharges the aquifer, hydraulic conductivity of the host rock, distribution and connectivity of existing cave systems, and how effective these are at draining water to the coast, and the distance from the coast. In general, the halocline is deeper further from the coast, and in the Yucatán Peninsula this depth

3332-507: The impurities present. Iron and other transition elements may give the obsidian a dark brown to black color. Most black obsidians contain nanoinclusions of magnetite , an iron oxide . Very few samples of obsidian are nearly colorless. In some stones, the inclusion of small, white, radially clustered crystals ( spherulites ) of the mineral cristobalite in the black glass produce a blotchy or snowflake pattern ( snowflake obsidian ). Obsidian may contain patterns of gas bubbles remaining from

3400-603: The island outcrops of the central Mediterranean . Through trade, these artifacts ended up in lands thousands of kilometers away from the original source; this indicates that they were a highly valued commodity. John Dee had a mirror, made of obsidian, which was brought from Mexico to Europe between 1527 and 1530 after Hernando Cortés's conquest of the region. In the Ubaid in the 5th millennium BC , blades were manufactured from obsidian extracted from outcrops located in modern-day Turkey . Ancient Egyptians used obsidian imported from

3468-451: The lava flow, aligned along layers created as the molten rock was flowing before being cooled. These bubbles can produce interesting effects such as a golden sheen ( sheen obsidian ). An iridescent , rainbow -like sheen ( fire obsidian ) is caused by inclusions of magnetite nanoparticles creating thin-film interference . Colorful, striped obsidian ( rainbow obsidian ) from Mexico contains oriented nanorods of hedenbergite , which cause

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3536-511: 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 geologic periods, 66 million years ago. This meteorite impact at the Cretaceous–Paleogene boundary

3604-591: The modern water table. However, very few of these cenotes appear to be connected with horizontally extensive underground river systems, with water flow through them being more likely dominated by aquifer matrix and fracture flows. In contrast, the cenotes along the Caribbean coast of the Yucatán Peninsula (within the state of Quintana Roo ) often provide access to extensive underwater cave systems, such as Sistema Ox Bel Ha , Sistema Sac Actun / Sistema Nohoch Nah Chich and Sistema Dos Ojos . The Yucatán Peninsula contains

3672-407: The most secluded and darker cenotes, the fauna has evolved to resemble those of many cave-dwelling species. For example, many animals don't have pigmentation and are often blind, so they are equipped with long feelers to find food and make their way around in the dark. Although cenotes are found widely throughout much of the Yucatán Peninsula, a higher-density circular alignment of cenotes overlies

3740-537: The only perennial source of potable water and have long been the principal source of water in much of the region. Major Maya settlements required access to adequate water supplies, and therefore cities, including the famous Chichen Itza , were built around these natural wells. Many cenotes like the Sacred Cenote in Chichen Itza played an important role in Maya rites. The Maya believed that cenotes were portals to Xibalba or

3808-437: The processes by which the cenotes formed and the inherent hydrogeochemical relationship with the underlying flooded cave networks, which were only discovered in the 1980s and later with the initiation of cave diving exploration. Flora and fauna are generally scarcer than in the open ocean; however, marine animals do thrive in caves. In caverns, one can spot mojarras , mollies , guppies , catfish , small eels and frogs . In

3876-548: The production technique for these tools, and the care taken in their storage, may indicate that beyond their practical use they were associated with prestige or high status. Obsidian was also used on Rapa Nui (Easter Island) for edged tools such as Mataia and the pupils of the eyes of their Moai (statues), which were encircled by rings of bird bone. Obsidian was used to inscribe the Rongorongo glyphs . Obsidian can be used to make extremely sharp knives, and obsidian blades are

3944-569: The ragged cut of a serrated weapon. The polearm version of this weapon was called tepoztopilli . Obsidian mirrors were used by some Aztec priests to conjure visions and make prophecies. They were connected with Tezcatlipoca , god of obsidian and sorcery, whose name can be translated from the Nahuatl language as 'Smoking Mirror'. Indigenous people traded obsidian throughout the Americas. Each volcano and in some cases each volcanic eruption produces

4012-463: The rainbow striping effects by thin-film interference . Obsidian is found near volcanoes in locations which have undergone rhyolitic eruptions. It can be found in Argentina, Armenia , Azerbaijan , Australia, Canada, Chile, Georgia , Ecuador , El Salvador , Greece, Guatemala , Hungary , Iceland, Indonesia , Italy, Japan, Kenya , Mexico, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea , Peru, Russia , Scotland,

4080-467: The remainder consists of variable amounts of other oxides, mostly oxides of aluminum, iron, potassium, sodium and calcium. Crystalline rocks with a similar composition include granite and rhyolite . Because obsidian is metastable at the Earth's surface (over time the glass devitrifies , becoming fine-grained mineral crystals), obsidian older than Miocene in age is rare. Exceptionally old obsidians include

4148-425: The status of the victim as alive or dead was unimportant. The occasional appearance of human remains in non-sacrificial cenotes can be attributed to rare errors in judgement on the part of the shaman. The actual pattern by which a particular victim's remains became interred in which cenotes remains a point of conjecture. The Franciscan leader Diego de Landa reported that he witnessed live sacrifices being thrown into

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4216-436: The subject. Obsidian scalpels may be purchased for surgical use on research animals . The major disadvantage of obsidian blades is their brittleness compared to those made of metal, thus limiting the surgical applications for obsidian blades to a variety of specialized uses where this is not a concern. Obsidian is also used for ornamental purposes and as a gemstone . It presents a different appearance depending on how it

4284-454: The subsequent structural collapse. Rock that falls into the water below is slowly removed by further dissolution, creating space for more collapse blocks. Likely, the rate of collapse increases during periods when the water table is below the ceiling of the void since the rock ceiling is no longer buoyantly supported by the water in the void. Cenotes may be fully collapsed, creating an open water pool, or partially collapsed with some portion of

4352-455: The top of the water. Leon Cole, a colleague of Thompson, once recorded in his journal, “they made ten hauls in the morning and six or eight in the afternoon.” People would search through the buckets of water looking for artifacts and categorizing them accordingly. Unfortunately, there were several reports of stolen artifacts that could never be found. Thompson decided to take a break from dredging after Salisbury died. A host of problems, including

4420-413: The water table some 27 metres (89 ft) below. According to sources, the Sacred Cenote was a place of pilgrimage for ancient Maya people who would conduct sacrifices into it. As Friar Diego de Landa observed in 1566 after visiting Chichen Itza: Most of the major findings in the cenote were made under the supervision of Edward Herbert Thompson , who began dredging in 1904. Much of what is known about

4488-415: The water was clarified for only a short amount of time. Archaeological investigations have removed thousands of objects from the bottom of the cenote, including artifacts made from gold, jadeite, copal, pottery, flint, obsidian , shell, wood, rubber, and cloth, as well as human skeletons. Many perishable objects were preserved by the cenote. Wooden objects which normally would have rotted were preserved in

4556-629: The water. A great variety of wooden objects have been found including weapons, scepters, idols, tools, and jewelry. Jade was the largest category of objects found, followed by textiles. The presence of jade, gold and copper in the cenote offers proof of the importance of Chichén Itzá as a cultural city center. None of these raw materials are native to the Yucatán, which indicates that they were valuable objects brought to Chichén Itzá from other places in Central America and then sacrificed as an act of worship. Pottery, stone, bone and shells were also found in

4624-599: Was mainly used for production of chipped tools which were very sharp due to its nature. Artifacts made of obsidian can be found in many Neolithic cultures across Europe. The source of obsidian for cultures inhabiting the territory of and around Greece was the island of Milos ; the Starčevo–Körös–Criș culture obtained obsidian from sources in Hungary and Slovakia, while the Cardium -Impresso cultural complex acquired obsidian from

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