Ladies and gentlemen, gather around for a captivating tale that blends history, archaeology, and genetics! Picture this: It’s the spring of 1967, and construction workers at Chichén Itzá, the legendary Maya city in Mexico, stumble upon a remarkable find. Their mission to build an airport for VIP visitors hits a monumental snag when they unearth human remains right where the runway is supposed to be. But this isn’t just any find – it’s the gateway to a journey through time and ancient rituals.
The unexpected discovery included a chultún, an underground rainwater storage container revered in Maya mythology as an entrance to the land of the dead. As if this wasn’t intriguing enough, connected to the chultún was a cave containing over 100 sets of human remains, almost all belonging to children. Imagine the scene: archaeologists racing against time, given just two months to excavate and examine these precious finds. Fast forward nearly 60 years, and ancient DNA from 64 of these children is now unveiling secrets about Maya religious practices and their connections to today’s descendants.
In a groundbreaking study published in the journal Nature, an international team of researchers revealed that these children were sacrificial victims from 500 to 900 A.D. And get this – they were all local Maya boys, likely chosen for sacrifice in sibling pairs. These insights are the first of their kind, thanks to the work of Johannes Krause, an archaeogeneticist at the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology. His team’s research offers an unprecedented look into the identities of these young sacrificial victims.
But how did this all begin? In the mid-2000s, Rodrigo Barquera, now an immunogeneticist at the Max Planck Institute, embarked on a quest to uncover the genetic impact of Mesoamerica’s deadliest pandemic – the 1545 outbreak of Salmonella enterica. To do this, he needed DNA from precolonial remains, untouched by the disease. The children from the chultún were perfect candidates. In 2015, Barquera’s team received permission to destroy small parts of their skulls to sequence their DNA.
The results were astonishing. All 64 children were boys, a finding that debunked long-held theories about the Maya sacrificing young virgin women. Instead, the evidence pointed to a focus on young boys, possibly reflecting the trials of the Hero Twins, legendary figures in Maya mythology.
Moreover, many of these boys were related, including two sets of identical twins. This revelation suggests that siblings or close relatives were chosen for these rituals, adding a layer of depth to our understanding of ancient Maya practices.
The DNA of these ancient boys also revealed a strong genetic link to modern Maya people living near Chichén Itzá. This connection underscores the enduring legacy of the Maya civilization and offers a powerful reminder of the deep roots and resilience of Indigenous communities.
Dr. Barquera and his team shared their findings with the local Maya population, confirming their direct lineage to the builders of Chichén Itzá. This revelation was met with pride and a renewed sense of identity among the descendants.
