Pre-Columbian people continue to be a mystery to science. From here, the study of their customs, rituals and, above all, sacrifices can be useful to solve the enigmas that characterized their societies and that to date no one could reveal. Recently, An international team of researchers published an article in the prestigious journal Nature which provides some interesting clues about the Mayans and, at the same time, debunks common myths about a civilization that was located in the current regions of Mexico and Guatemala, and spread to Belize, Honduras and El Salvador. With a population that exceeded six million people and covered 300 thousand square kilometers, they were noted for their numerous temples and their controversial ball games, as well as for their writing and their notable advances in mathematics, astronomy, architecture and art.
The work, led by members of the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology (Germany), analyzed human remains deposited for more than eight centuries in an underground water cistern – called ‘Chultún’ – in Chichen Itzá, Yucatán Peninsula. They were built underground because they maintained that in this way there was a more direct connection with the underworld. This infrastructure, in turn, is located a few meters from the Sacred Cenote: a sinkhole in which hundreds of remains linked to sacrifices were also located.
The cistern had been found for the first time in 1967 by archaeologists whose hypothesis was that the majority of bone remains corresponded to women. It was believed, in fact, that they were preferred as offerings over men. However, based on new scientific evidence and DNA analysis, it was learned that, contrary to what was believed, the majority of sacrificial victims were men. Of a total of 64 sets of remains, many were male and very small. Specifically, they were cousins and brothers who were between three and six years old.
This bond that united them was also a surprise for the team of archaeologists who carried out the investigation. Indeed, the fact that they were direct relatives could be interpreted by the families as a privilege and a symbol of social status.
The Popol Vuh as a guide
Based on genetic evaluations, It was learned that at least a quarter were brothers or cousins. What is even more significant, there were also remains of two sets of identical twins. Since this condition only occurs in a very small percentage (approximately 0.4 percent of births), scientists evaluate whether the fact that they were offered together corresponds to mere chance.
The crux is that according to the Popol Vuh, the sacred narrative of the Mayan people, the twins Hun-Hunahpú and Vucub-Hanahpú came to Earth from the underworld to play the ball game and were then sacrificed. As the story goes, the head of one of them fertilized a maiden with ‘Hero Twins’, who avenged the death of his father and became those in charge of guaranteeing the corn harvests. In this frame, The scientists who led the Nature article hypothesize that the remains found may have represented a tribute to this narrative piece of Mayan mythology.
Likewise, from the use of radiocarbon, It was also known that the burial site functioned between the year 500 and 1300, with splendor in the 9th century, when Chichen Itzá was the most important city of the empire. According to the job, The bones did not have striking lesions, so it was not possible to notice the sacrificial methods used in the rituals. Thus, it was confirmed that these were neither heart extractions nor decapitations.
As complementary information, blood tests were carried out on people who currently live in the same area of Chichen Itzá. It was warned, in this way, a genetic continuity between the current inhabitants and the buried children. From here, it was possible to verify that the ancient sacrifices corresponded to members of the local community and were not individuals who came from other imperial regions. Furthermore, the diets they were fed were similar, so it could be inferred that people lived in places close to each other.
Please the gods
Ceremonies celebrating death were common among civilization since they functioned as an offering to the gods. It was believed that, through these gifts, The deities then rewarded the people with good harvests, victories in combat with enemies, or favorable periods of fertility. In fact, being sacrificed was an honor: that is why the winners of the ball game – a combination between volleyball and basketball – often suffered that fate.
Not only Western religions were built on the relationship of humans with death. According to him egyptian imaginary, life and death were so united and combined that even the funerary activities of the living were directed, in some way, to the world beyond. Indeed, through offerings, the bereaved sought to guarantee the survival of their deceased.
The findings released on this occasion, as usual, must be complemented with new studies. Once again, the science linked to funerary rituals can be a gateway to begin to understand fundamental dynamics in the life of legendary civilizations about which there are still more mysteries than certainties.
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