Chen K’u: The Ceramic of the Sacred Cenote at Chichén Itzá
Study of the Ceramic Fragments of the Explorations Conducted in the 60’s

Tihosuco Horizon (350 - 150 BCE)

The ceramic sample of the Tihosuco Horizon that corresponds to the Late Preclassic period is more extensive in terms of quantity and diversity. Although we know of other examples of Preclassic ceramics from elsewhere in Chichén Itzá, among which the collection of the Ossuary collected by Peter J. Schmidt in 1994 deserves to be highlighted (Schmidt 1995, personal communication), the 224 sherds from this Horizon form the most significant Preclassic collection gathered to date (R.E. Smith, 1971: 139; P.J. Schmidt, 1991; Pérez de Heredia, 1997).

Ten types corresponding to 5 different groups are represented. Of these, the most important based on the number of fragments is the Orange Kin group, which amounts to 76.3% of this Horizon. The Sierra Group, with four types represented, comprises 12.9% of the total, an identical percentage to that of the Saban Group, which only presents one type: Striated Chancenote. The Ucú and Flor groups involve smaller percentages.

As to the forms, 91% of the Tihosuco sample are fragments of pitchers while the rest are cajetes and bowls in equal quantities. This could be interpreted as evidence that, for the Late Preclassic period, the principal function of the Sacred Cenote was to supply water, without any evidence of a ritual cult present in the ceramic. However, three quarters of these pitchers correspond to the Incised Orange Kin type, which because of its decoration may have possessed some special value y therefore, perhaps we should consider that these jars of the Kin type may have been cast there as offerings.

The Kin, Chancenote and Ucú types are characteristic of the northern Yucatán plains, reflecting an identity of their own for the inhabitants of this area. The Flor Cream type is related to the Petén, and Saban, to the eastern coast, although its presence in nearly all the Preclassic settlements of northern Yucatán would possibly suggest local production rather than some kind of exchange.

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