Case file · Sacred site
Dredging the Sacred Cenote of Chichén Itzá
From 1904 US consul Edward H. Thompson dredged the Sacred Cenote at Chichén Itzá, bringing up gold, jade, copal and human remains thrown in as offerings to the rain god Chaak.
1904 CE · 20.69, -88.57 · status: official
The account
Spanish chroniclers such as Diego de Landa described people being thrown into the cenote. Thompson shipped many finds to Harvard's Peabody Museum, later partly returned to Mexico. Studies found most victims were children and young men.