Analysis of ancient DNA from 64 Mayan children sacrificed between the 7th and 12th centuries AD has revealed a surprising story of ritual killing. Many of the victims were pairs of male twins or closely related individuals. This discovery, published in the journal Nature, dispels the myth according to which young girls were the preferred victims in sacrifices.
The study, conducted in the ancient city of Chichén Itzá, in the heart of the Yucatan Peninsula, was led by the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology in Leipzig and the National Institute of Anthropology and History of Mexico. In addition to shedding light on ritual practices, it allowed them to investigate the genetic legacy left by the devastating epidemics brought by European colonists.
The researchers, including Rodrigo Barquera and Oana Del Castillo-Chávez, examined the remains of children buried in an underground chamber. Analysis showed that all the children were boys, many of them related to each other, including at least two sets of twins. These findings suggest that male children, especially twins, were selected for rituals, reflecting their special significance in Maya spirituality.
Ancient Mayan DNA: new discoveries on ritual sacrifices
Christina Warinner, co-author of the study, points out that this research overturns popular 20th century beliefs, which they described the sacrifice of young people women and girls. Instead, a profound connection emerges between ritual sacrifices and the cycles of death and rebirth described in the sacred texts.
The information genetics collected at Chichen Itza Itzá also revealed the impact of 16th-century epidemics on indigenous populations. Among the most devastating, the 1545 epidemic caused by the bacterium Salmonellahas left genetic traces in populations modern. In fact, gene variants have been found that offer protection against Salmonella infection. “I Maya today bear the genetic scars of these colonial-era epidemics,” he says Barquera.
This discovery not only offers a new perspective on the ritual practices of the ancients Mayabut also on the consequences in the long term of the epidemics colonial. How do you feel knowing that the Maya of today still carry these genetic inheritances with them?
#Ancient #Maya #DNA #reveals #secrets #ritual #sacrifices