Mass Graves in Chichen Itza Reveal Human Offerings in Ancient Maya Civilization; Genomic Analysis Shows How They Chose Sacrificed Victims

Chichen Itza was one of the largest and most influential cities of the ancient Maya in Mexico's Yucatan Peninsula. It has long been associated with human sacrifice with a long-held misconception that the victims were usually young and female.

Powerful Ancient City

Chichen Itza rose to power in the early years of the Classic Maya collapse. It used to be a populous and powerful political center before the Spanish conquerors arrived. Today, the ancient city is one of the most iconic and enigmatic archaeological sites in Mexico.

The influence of Chichen Itza extended throughout the Maya region and into the heart of Central Mexico. The famed city is known for its monumental architecture, which includes numerous temples, ball courts, and the huge El Castillo temple that features feathered serpents.

Aside from its archaeological significance, Chichen Itza is also known for its massive evidence of human ritual killing. These include both the physical remains of the sacrificed victims and artistic representations in their monuments.

In the early 20th century, the Sacred Cenote was explored by archaeologists, and this led to the discovery of hundreds of individual remains. Meanwhile, a full-scale stone representation of a massive skull rack on the site demonstrated the centrality of human sacrifice within the ritual life in the ancient city. Still, the role and context of ritual killing at Chichen Itza remain poorly understood.

A large population of sacrificed victims at the site are children and adolescents. There is a widespread belief that the primary focus of sacrifice was females, but sex is difficult to determine just by physically analyzing the skeletal remains.

Sexual Preference in Human Sacrifice

In 1967, a team of archaeologists discovered an underground chamber near the Sacred Cenote. The chamber, possibly a chultun or water cistern, contained scattered remains of more than a hundred young children.

To better understand the ritual and context of child sacrifice at Chichen Itza, an international team of researchers from various institutions conducted an in-depth genetic analysis of the remains of 64 children who were buried within the Chultun.

Dating of the human remains revealed that the chultun was used for funerary purposes for over 500 years, from the 7th to 12th centuries AD. However, most of the children were buried during the 200-year period of the city's political apex between 800 to 1,000 AD.

In the study "Ancient genomes reveal insights into ritual life at Chichén Itzá," it was found that the practice of ritual child sacrifice focused exclusively on males. Further DNA analysis revealed that these children were drawn from local Maya populations.

At least a quarter of the sacrificed children were found to be close relatives. They were assumed to consume similar diets, which indicates that they were raised in the same household. More surprisingly, the experts identified the remains of two pairs of identical twins.

The findings of the study indicate that the related male children were likely selected in pairs for ritual practices connected with the chultun. There is also a possible link to the Maya origin myths of the Popol Vuh, the K'iche' Mayan Book of Council. Since twin sacrifice is a central theme in the sacred book, twins hold a special place in the spiritual life of the ancient Maya.