This study evaluates the importance of rejolladas to the Ancient Maya in and around the Classic Maya center of Xuenkal, Yucatán State, Mexico. Rejolladas are collapse sinkholes with bases above the local water table. We present a spatial and physical analysis of 186 rejolladas in a 10 × 10 km area centered on Xuenkal. Basal diameters range from ∼22 to 264 m, areas range from 0.04 to 5.48 ha, and depths range from 4 to 12 m. Spatial density ranges from 0 to 8 rejolladas/km 2 with higher densities coinciding with known Ancient Maya settlements. Within Xuenkal, residential groups tend to be organized around and focused on the rejolladas. Some rejolladas have modified slopes that may be remnants of terraces or entry paths. High-resolution satellite imagery analysis demonstrates that rejolladas have denser and healthier vegetation than the surrounding landscape especially in the dry season. Microclimate data demonstrate that the bottom of rejolladas has less extreme diurnal temperature ranges, lower daytime highs, higher atmospheric moisture, and significantly higher and more stable soil moisture. Based on the archaeology at Xuenkal, it appears that the Ancient Maya recognized and actively exploited these environmental microniches for intensive cultivation both locally and regionally. C 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
INTRODUCTIONThe relatively flat limestone-dominated Northern Lowlands of the Yucatán Peninsula, Mexico (Figure 1) are no more than 40 m above sea level (asl), and contain thousands of sinkholes that puncture the terrain. The sinkholes are typically round in shape, have moderate to steep sides (Weidie, 1985; Gonzalez de la Mata, 2006;Houck, 2006;Munro-Stasiuk & Manahan, 2010), and are the product of surface collapses, subsurface solution, or a combination thereof (López, 2008). They often allow access to groundwater, which may or may not be exposed in the base of the sinkholes, making them particularly desirable places for the modern Maya to directly access water, dig wells, and plant fruit crops. Contemporary classification of the sinkholes is based on indigenous typological distinctions related to proximity to the water table (Houck, 2006) and there are three main types (Figure 2). The best-known sinkholes are cenotes (derived from the Yucatec Maya name dzonot) (Hall, 1936), which have bases well below the water table sometimes resulting in extraordinarily deep water (Beddows, 2004). An intermediate type is dzadzob (singular dzadz; also known as aguadas or nauahuelas), which touch the water table but do not significantly penetrate it. Finally, rejolladas (also known as ko'op in Yucatec Maya), and the focus of this study, are surface collapses that do not reach the water table and remain dry throughout the year (Figure 3).All sinkhole types had economic, environmental, and sometimes ideological importance to the Ancient Maya. Cenotes that represent the only major access to water in the region were the most revered, and were considered as sacred portals that allowed communication with rain and fertility deit...
