Maya Sacrifices Unlock New Shocking Discovery Thanks To DNA
It has been long known that the ancient Maya civilization took part in human sacrifices for some of their rituals. The common belief was that it was primarily young girls who were chosen for this practice, which helped lend to the common trope in movies and TV shows regarding virgin sacrifices. However, recent DNA discoveries have suggested that these beliefs may have in fact been untrue this entire time and that it may have actually been young boys who were the ones chosen for these sacrifices.
Pelvis Bones
You might assume that this would be a difficult mistake to make, as we know the structure of skeletons can typically reveal the gender of the person from when they were alive. This in large part relies on examining the pelvis bones which are shaped differently in men and women.
However, these differences only really begin developing during puberty. So in the case of the customs of the ancient Maya and their sacrifices, the skeletons could be reliably identified as children, but may have been misinterpreted as being female.
DNA Research
This revelation about the Maya sacrifices comes thanks to advances in DNA research. Using the latest in modern science, archaeologists recently examined 64 sets of remains in an underground chamber that they believe had been victims of human sacrifice. To their astonishment, they determined that all of the victims were in fact young boys and that some of them were even related.
Our Assumptions Were Wrong
Ruben Mendoza is an archaeologist and a professor at California State University who teaches on the topics of social sciences and global studies. While not part of this latest discovery, he has done ample research into the topic of the Maya sacrifices and has written a book about the practice of ritual sacrifice in Mesoamerica.
He responded to this archaeological revelation and how it has seemingly debunked some long-held assumptions.
“This characterization of Maya sacrifice was catapulted to the forefront through media depictions of young maidens (aka virgins) being hurled to their deaths at the Sacred Well,” said Mendoza.
In other words, we assumed movies and TV shows were showing stories based on archaeological findings. However, like many things depicted in entertainment, it seems these depictions were more focused on creating an emotional response in audiences than prioritizing accuracy.
New Science Makes It Possible
As for how new developments in the science of DNA research were able to uncover these findings, Christina Warinner is an Associate Professor of the Social Sciences and Anthropology at Harvard University and shared some insight into this.
She revealed how the latest methods make it possible to extract information even from ancient remains like in the case of the Maya sacrifice victims.
“We’re getting better and better at retrieving even very small amounts of DNA. And suddenly, we now have the ability to do these large-scale genomic studies and apply ancient DNA as a tool to help us understand the past in Mesoamerica,” Warinner said in regards to the findings about the Maya sacrifices.
“I am so excited about that because this is an area of the world which has this incredibly rich history.”
Learning More About The Sacrifices
These new DNA findings not only shed light on the gender of the victims, but also the ages of the individuals that the Maya picked for their sacrifices. Shockingly, the majority of the boys were no older than six when they were killed, with others being as young as three years old.
The findings also showed that about a quarter of them were related to each other as well. Two pairs of twins were identified from the remains.
The archaeologists do not know for sure how the Maya sacrifices were killed, but they do know that decapitation and removal of the heart were common methods at the time.
These latest findings are now making archaeologists believe that the Maya selected different types of victims based on whatever religious events happened to be transpiring during that point in the year.
Source: CNN
