This strange human sacrifice was likely a gruesome re-enactment of an ancient Mayan myth

The sacrifice of two Mayans more than 1,000 years ago may be more than just a tragedy — archaeologists believe it could be a reenactment of an old legend about the sun and moon.

As the myth tells it, a pair of twins sacrificed themselves and were reborn as the moon and the sun. Now, a paper in the Cambridge Archaeological Journal suggests that the sacrifice of a Mayan boy and man 1,600 years ago was inspired by the myth.

Archaeologists found the pair at Tikal, the ruins of an ancient city in Guatemala. One of the skulls had a flattened forehead, which the team believes came from binding, a sacrificial ritual. The bodies were also found in a pit, suggesting they were burned as sacrifices.

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The researchers explain that the twins were reborn "only after they died by throwing themselves in a pit oven."