The ancient Maya civilization of Central America has captivated researchers for centuries with its amazing astronomical calendar and impressive step pyramids.
Along with their rich culture, they are also connected with a darker aspect: human sacrifice. Recent studies reveal that this is indeed a grim reality.
New genetic analysis from the ancient Maya city of Chichen Itza indicates that many of the sacrificial victims were children, with a high number being identical twins.
Published in the journal Nature, the research looked at human remains found in a xultun near the Sacred Cenote.
Radiocarbon dating suggests that the chultun was used between the 7th and 12th centuries AD.
“All individuals in the chultun were children aged three to six,” explained Dr. Rodrigo Barquera, the lead author of the study.
Genetic evidence showed that all 64 individuals tested were male, with about 25% being closely related, including two sets of identical twins.
The occurrence of male identical twins in such a small sample size is unusual.
Barquera noted that twins held significance in Mayan mythology, especially the story of heroic twins defeating the king of the underworld.
This suggests that sacrificing identical male twins was a way to honor the hero twins’ existence.
While this may not have been favorable for identical twins in Maya culture, it was a great honor for their families.
Barquera and his team aim to validate their findings by comparing them with other archaeological sites.
About our experts
Rodrigo Barquera is a postdoctoral researcher in the Archaeogenetics department at the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology in Leipzig. He has authored numerous research papers published in esteemed journals like Nature and Nature Communications Biology.
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Source: www.sciencefocus.com
