DNA suggests Mayans sacrificed boy siblings

The remains of 64 Mayans believed to have been ritually sacrificed were young boys

(Image credit: Earl Leaf / Michael Ochs Archives / Getty Images)

published 13 June 2024

What happened

The remains of 64 Mayans believed to have been ritually sacrificed in the ancient Mexican city Chichén Itzá between 500 and 1000 A.D. were local boys, mostly age 3 to 6 and many of them closely related, researchers reported Wednesday in the journal Nature. There were two sets of twins.

The remains were accidentally discovered in a chultún, or cistern, near Chichén Itzá in 1967. DNA analysis began in 2015, and "we kept rerunning the tests because we couldn't believe that all of them were male," said the study lead author Rodrigo Barquera at Germany's Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology.

The findings "obviously flew in the face of the argument that it was mostly young virgin women being thrown into the cenote," an idea first popularized by early archeologists, Northern Arizona University archaeologist Jaime Awe said to The New York Times. But while "only male children were selected for sacrifice" here, rituals varied.

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Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.