Distorted Skulls and Evidences of Ritual Beheadings Discovered in 2,000-Year-Old Maya Burial in Mexico

In a Maya pyramid in Mexico, archeologists unveiled remains of some individuals with deformed skulls and showed indications of ritual decapitation.

Evidence of Sacrificial Rituals

The burial site was found near a Maya ruin of Moral-Reforma, a municipality of Balancán near Tabasco. The remains were unearthed directly in front of the stairwell of Structure 18, a temple-pyramid located south of the main complex.

The discovery was initially made by Mexico's National Institute of Anthropology and History (INAH) in April, but the findings were announced this week after the human remains were analyzed. In a statement released on August 23, INAH confirmed that the burials date to the Late Classic Period (A.D. 600 to 900) during the time when the Maya civilization prospered in the Mesoamerican region.

The remains consist of skulls, jaw fragments, and human bones of the lower and upper extremities. It was also revealed that some of the bones have been covered in red pigment. According to the result of anatomical analysis, all of the individuals were men between the ages of 17 and 35. Sacrificing prisoners of war were part of Maya culture, but it is still unclear if these people were captives.

The remains belong to 13 individuals including two who were beheaded and five whose skulls were intentionally deformed. The skull of one of the beheaded individuals contains traces of horizontal cut marks located in the craniocervical junction. This region is made up of the bone that forms the base of the skull and the first two bones in the upper spine.

According to physical anthropologist Miriam Angélica Camacho Martínez from INAH Tabasco Centre, the skull was extracted using a sharp object. This was confirmed because the anatomical relationship between the cervicals and the mandible was maintained. However, they found it difficult to determine if this injury was the cause of death or was done post-mortem.

The modified elongated skulls were achieved by using bands to constrict a person's head when they were still young. Aside from Maya, other ancient societies also practiced this tradition, such as people in Japan, some Native American tribes, medieval European women, and the Huns. Archeologists believe that this practice may have raised a person's social status.

Maya Reforma is a city, occupied from around A.D. 300 as an important trading site along the San Pedro Mártir River. By the time it reached its peak, it covered an area of 215 acres (870,074 square meters) with plazas, palaces, and pyramid complexes.

Human Sacrifice in Maya Culture

Ritual sacrifices have a significant role in Maya culture. They used to sacrifice a great number of animals, such as iguanas, jaguars, crocodiles, turkeys, peccaries, and dogs. The supreme sacrifice was the human life, which took place during elaborate ceremonies. Scenes of such practice have been depicted in ancient Maya sculptures, murals, and ceramics.

Human sacrifices were done by Mayas in order to appease the gods. Most of the sacrificed individuals include criminals, slaves, orphans, bastards, and children. Children were chosen for sacrifice due to their innocent nature, and they were sometimes bought or abducted from neighboring cities.

Historians believe that human sacrifice was first introduced to the Maya culture by the Toltecs. Other methods of human sacrifice were also observed, such as beating, arrow sacrifices, drowning, and mutilation.

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