By Will DunhamWASHINGTON (Reuters) – In 1967, an underground cistern known as a chultun was discovered near a sacred body of water at Chichen Itza, an important ancient Maya city on Mexico’s Yucatan peninsula. Skeletal remains of more than 100 children were found inside.Now, DNA obtained from 64 of them is offering insight into child sacrifice at Chichen Itza in the centuries before Europeans reached the New World. Those entombed were all boys – some of them brothers, including two sets of identical twins – killed during religious rituals, scientists said on Wednesday. Most were ages 3 to 6.Most were interred in the mass grave during the pinnacle of Chichen Itza’s political and cultural clout, from about 800 AD to 1000 AD, though some were buried in the centuries before and after that, covering a 500-year span ending at around 1100.Twins figure prominently in ancient Maya religion and art, and sacrificing twins is described in sacred writings, including a book called the Popol Vuh. The Mayan Hero Twins, Hunahpu and Xbalanque, underwent cycles of sacrifice and resurrection as they confronted gods of the underworld. Subterranean structures like the chultun were considered entrances to the underworld, central to Maya cosmogony.”Ritual sacrifice was a common practice among ancient Me …
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[mwai_chat context=”Let’s have a discussion about this article:nnBy Will DunhamWASHINGTON (Reuters) – In 1967, an underground cistern known as a chultun was discovered near a sacred body of water at Chichen Itza, an important ancient Maya city on Mexico’s Yucatan peninsula. Skeletal remains of more than 100 children were found inside.Now, DNA obtained from 64 of them is offering insight into child sacrifice at Chichen Itza in the centuries before Europeans reached the New World. Those entombed were all boys – some of them brothers, including two sets of identical twins – killed during religious rituals, scientists said on Wednesday. Most were ages 3 to 6.Most were interred in the mass grave during the pinnacle of Chichen Itza’s political and cultural clout, from about 800 AD to 1000 AD, though some were buried in the centuries before and after that, covering a 500-year span ending at around 1100.Twins figure prominently in ancient Maya religion and art, and sacrificing twins is described in sacred writings, including a book called the Popol Vuh. The Mayan Hero Twins, Hunahpu and Xbalanque, underwent cycles of sacrifice and resurrection as they confronted gods of the underworld. Subterranean structures like the chultun were considered entrances to the underworld, central to Maya cosmogony.”Ritual sacrifice was a common practice among ancient Me …nnDiscussion:nn” ai_name=”RocketNews AI: ” start_sentence=”Can I tell you more about this article?” text_input_placeholder=”Type ‘Yes'”]
