February 13 – March 18, 2008
Curated by Christine Hernandez, David Dressing, and Gabrielle Vail
Cenotes and underground caverns form naturally in the porous limestone of the Yucatán Peninsula. Cenotes are sinkholes filled with fresh water reaching down to the subterranean water table. Hundreds have been documented across the Yucatán Peninsula, and they have been used by the prehispanic and contemporary Maya both as a source of fresh water and as a setting for sacred rituals, especially those dedicated to the rain gods.
This exhibit features photographs, drawings, and other materials from the Stuart Collection, Tulane's Middle American Research Institute, and the Latin American Library that showcase explorations at three cave and cenote sites – Balankanché near Chichén Itzá; Cenote Xlacah at Dzibilchaltún in Yucatán; and Naj Tunich in the Petén, Guatemala. Beginning in the late 1950s, Tulane University initiated research at Balankanché and Dzibilchaltún under the direction of E. Wyllys Andrews IV, in projects co-sponsored by the National Geographic Society. George Stuart of National Geographic participated in all these projects, which will be the subject of his keynote address at the Fifth Annual Tulane Maya Symposium on Friday, February 15 th, 2008.
The photographs in this exhibit were taken by National Geographic Society photographers, Luis Marden (Cenote Xlacah at Dzibilchaltún), Richard H. Stewart (Balankanché), and W. E. Garrett (Naj Tunich). The photograph of hieroglyphic text from Naj Tunich below was taken by Diego Molina.
The curators of this exhibit and the Tulane Latin American Library gratefully acknowledge George and Melinda Stuart, the National Geographic Society, and Tulane University 's Middle American Research Institute for permission to reproduce the images shown in this exhibit.
Funding for this exhibit was made possible through an endowment from the Zemurray Foundation in memory of Doris Zemurray Stone.
