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