They are the remains of 64 children. They are buried in the Mayan ruins of Chichén Itzá. It reveals a practice of ritual sacrifice of young male couples. The ruins of Mayan child sacrifices contain a secret.
Chichén Itzá is one of the most emblematic and enigmatic archaeological sites in North America. It is known for its extensive evidence of ritual sacrifices. Dredging of the site’s Sacred Cenote in the early 20th century identified the remains of hundreds of individuals. But the role and context of ritual sacrifices at the site remain poorly understood.
Twins
In 1967, an underground chamber was discovered near the Sacred Cenote. It contained the scattered remains of over a hundred young children. In-depth genetic research was carried out. Dating the remains revealed that the chultún was used for mortuary purposes for more than 500 years.
«There are remarkably similar dietary patterns. They show a first or second degree family connection,” co-author Patxi Pérez-Ramallo says in a statement. He is a researcher at the Max Planck Institutes for Evolutionary Anthropology (MPI-EVA). “The most surprising thing is that we identified two pairs of identical twins.”
Twins hold a special place in the origin stories and spiritual lives of the ancient Mayans. The sacrifice of twins is a central theme in the sacred Book of the Council of the Quiche Maya, known as the Popol Vuh. It is a book from the colonial era whose history dates back more than 2000 years to the Mayan region. In the Popol Vuh, the twins Hun Hunahpu and Vucub Hunahpu descend into the underworld. There they are sacrificed by the gods after being defeated in a ball game.
Connections
The ruins of Mayan child sacrifices are related to the Hero Twins. Their adventures are widely represented in Classic period Mayan art. “This study reveals the deep connections between ritual sacrifice and the cycles of human death and rebirth described in sacred Mayan texts.”