DNA suggests Mayans sacrificed boy siblings
These findings "flew in the face of the argument that it was mostly young virgin women" being sacrificed
![Mayan pyramid at Chichén Itzá](https://cdn.statically.io/img/cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/kQPWmmHNK5AVVtocTXLdgk-415-80.jpg)
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.
Who said what
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.
What next?
Ancient DNA degrades faster in tropical areas, but "we're getting better and better at retrieving even very small amounts of DNA" and analyzing it to understand "this incredibly rich history" in Mesoamerica, said Harvard's Christina Warinner, a study coauthor.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
![https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516.jpg](https://cdn.statically.io/img/cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516-320-80.jpg)
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Create an account with the same email registered to your subscription to unlock access.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
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.
-
74 things Donald Trump has said about women
Feature The former president has a long history of controversial remarks about the opposite sex
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
-
How Biden's enablers may have delayed his bowing out
Talking Points Joe Biden's inner circle faces calls for a reckoning for allegedly shielding the president — and the public — from questions of aging and electoral viability
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
-
Israel intercepts Houthi rocket after Yemen strike
Speed Read Just hours after its deadly strike on Houthi rebels, Israel said it shot down a Yemen missile
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Scientists just made a big breakthrough with woolly mammoth DNA
The Explainer For the first time, researchers have reconstructed fossilized chromosomes
By Justin Klawans, The Week US Published
-
NASA, astronauts shrug off Starliner return trip delay
Speed Read Two astronauts are stuck on the International Space Station due to problems with Boeing’s Starliner
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
How fatherhood changes the brain
Speed Read These brain changes may help men to better bond with their baby
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Boeing and NASA ready first crewed Starliner flight
Speed Read Two NASA astronauts are heading to the International Space Station
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Orangutan heals cut with medicinal plant
Speed Read A Sumatran orangutan in Indonesia has been self-medicating to heal a wound on his cheek
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Why the Y chromosome is vanishing and what this means for the future
The Explainer A new sex gene could be on the evolution pipeline
By Devika Rao, The Week US Published
-
Good news stories from 2023
In Depth Huge strides have been made in medicine and science, and records broken in women's sports and conservation
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Published
-
Scientists a step closer to resurrecting extinct Tasmanian tiger
Speed Read New study marks the first time RNA has been recovered from an extinct species
By Jamie Timson Published