Who were the victims of Maya sacrifice? Ancient DNA reveals an unexpected finding

DNA reveals surprise about the children ancient Mayans chose to sacrifice

Researchers analyzing DNA at ancient Mayan city of Chichén Itzá, a site for human sacrifices, found that young boys, including twins, were buried in a mass grave there.

The secrets of Maya child sacrifice at Chichén Itzá uncovered using ancient DNA

After analyzing the remains of 64 ancient sacrificed individuals, most of whom were children, researchers have revealed new details about human sacrifice at the ancient Maya site of Chichén Itzá.Published today in Nature, these results show that contrary to popular belief, every one of the ritually sacrificed individuals was male. Additionally, many of them were closely related, including two pairs of identical twins, evoking important themes of…

Identical twins were a ‘special’ Mayan child sacrifice

El Castillo is one of the largest structures at Chichén Itzá (Picture: Johannes Krause/SWNS) Twin boys were often slaughtered in human sacrificial rituals at a notorious Mayan temple, it has emerged. The grim discovery was made after human remains were found in the ancient city of Chichén Itzá, where they were analysed using state-of-the-art technology by an international team of scientists. The findings, published in the journal Nature, disprov…

Who were the victims of Maya sacrifice? Ancient DNA reveals an unexpected finding

A new analysis of ancient DNA from the ancient Maya city of Chichén Itzá in Mexico challenges long-held misconceptions about the victims of ritual sacrifice.