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  5. Ancient Maya DNA uncovers shocking evidence of paired male child sacrifices at Chichen Itza

Ancient Maya DNA uncovers shocking evidence of paired male child sacrifices at Chichen Itza

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The ancient Maya city of Chichén Itzá in Mexico's Yucatán Peninsula has long been associated with human sacrifice. A common misconception is that young female victims were often flung alive into sinkholes as offerings to the gods. However, more recent research suggests that both men and women, as well as children, were among those sacrificed. Genetic analysis of 64 infant boy skeletons may shed light on the symbolic role twins played in Maya myths and rituals. In 1967, the remains of over 100 children were found in a repurposed underground cistern near the sacred sinkhole at the ceremonial center of the city. DNA testing revealed that all analyzed individuals were male, with several being closely related, including two pairs of monozygotic twins.

  1. ES
    Rodrigo Barquera
    Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology
    1. They were super happy to learn that they were related to the people that once inhabited Chichén Itzá.
    2. I think we have to remember that death, and everything that these rituals imply, were completely different to us, because we have a very different view of the world than the one that they had.
    3. There are no cut marks or evidence of trauma, which tells us how they did not die.
    4. For Maya, and Mesoamerican cultures in general, death is the ultimate offering and, as such, sacrifices bear high importance to their beliefs system.
    5. At that time, children who died of diseases usually died within the first two years of life.
    6. We were thinking, influenced by traditional archaeology that we would find, a non-sex-biased burial or mostly girls.

Maya and Inca Civilizations

  1. Archaeologists stumble upon previously unknown Maya city in Mexico with ancient structures and temples
  2. Archaeologists map lost cities in Ecuadorian Amazon, settlements that lasted 1,000 years

sources

  1. 1.CTV News
  2. 2.The Guardian
  3. 3.Ars Technica
  4. 4.El Pais

perspectives

  1. 1.History
  2. 2.Archeology
  3. 3.Amazon Forest

countries

  1. 1.GermanyDE
  2. 2.SpainES
  3. 3.MexicoMX

organizations

  1. 1.Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology
  2. 2.Harvard UniversityUS
  3. 3.Autonomous University of Yucatán

persons

  1. 1.Rodrigo BarqueraES
  2. 2.Christina Warinner
  3. 3.Hun Hunahpu
  4. 4.John L Loeb
  5. 5.Kathrin Nägele
  6. 6.Rubén Mendoza
  7. 7.Vera Tiesler
  8. 8.Vucub Hunahpu
  9. 9.Diego De Landa

technicals

  1. 1.Chichen Itza
  2. 2.Cenote Sagrado
  3. 3.Popol Vuh
  4. 4.Great Ball Court
  5. 5.Temple Of Kukulcán
  6. 6.Well Of Sacrifice
Ancient Maya DNA uncovers shocking evidence of paired male child sacrifices at Chichen Itza