Latest news with #Bleuze
Yahoo
13-05-2025
- Science
- Yahoo
Hundreds of Bone Fragments Linked to Ancient Mayan Blood Sacrifices
Archaeologists working in northern Guatemala (formerly the Mayan city of Dos Pilas) recently discovered fragments of more than 100 human bones which researchers believe belonged to those sacrificed by the Mayan people to appease their gods, Live Science reported. The bones were discovered within a flooded cave, which is historically known as Cueva del Sangre, or 'the Cave of Blood.' Many of the fragments showed signs of violence. The Cave of Blood is a vast underground network WHICH was first mapped in the 1990s. Dating back to somewhere between 400 B.C. and 250 B.C., it was used by the Mayans during a time when their civilization was experiencing great affluence. Scientists posit that the cave was a sacred location in which ritual blood sacrifices were held. This theory is supported by the discovery of obsidian blades within the caverns; as well as the fact that the bodies were left lying on the floor in the open, rather than properly Bleuze, a bioarchaeologist who studied the bone fragments, noted a particularly grisly fact about the recovered bones. "The emerging pattern that we're seeing is that there are body parts and not bodies,' she said. 'In Maya ritual, body parts are just as valuable as the whole body.' Bleuze and her colleague, forensic anthropologist Ellen Fricano, believe that the signs of violence on the bones are the biggest indicator that the site was used for blood rituals. All of the marks, such as those made to someone's forehead with a beveled blade and similar cuts on an adolescent hip bone, were made shortly before death.'There are a few lines of evidence that we used to determine that this was more likely a ritual site than not,' Fricano explained. She added that the bones seemed to be placed in a deliberate arrangement, indicating that they were displayed as part of the rituals. Bleuze and Franco hypothesize that the rituals were conducted to appease the Mayan rain god Chaac, a way of ushering in the warm seasons and blessing the community's crops. The researchers stress that they will continue analyzing the skeletal remains, as many questions remain unanswered. They hope to discover the identities of those sacrificed, including their relationships, origins, and health at the time of death. 'Right now, our focus is who are these people [sic] deposited here, because they're treated completely differently than the majority of the population,' Bleuze said.
Yahoo
12-05-2025
- Science
- Yahoo
Archaeologists Explored a ‘Blood Cave'—and Found Chopped-Up Maya Skulls
"Hearst Magazines and Yahoo may earn commission or revenue on some items through these links." Guatemala's Cueva de Sangre, translated as 'blood cave,' isn't just a clever name. It's an apropos description of the cave former purpose, as a depository of fragments of human remains sacrificed by the Maya people to their rain god. If that sounds violent, that's because it was. The cave—and the remains within in it—were first discovered in the 1990s at Dos Pilas in Peten, part of a stretch of roughly 12 caves the Maya people frequented between 400 B.C. and 250 A.D. The 'blood cave,' though, stood out from the other caves discovered for its collection of human bones strewn across the cave floor, with dismemberment and traumatic injuries the norm. But new research presented at the annual Society for American Archaeology meeting, titled 'Black as Night, Dark as Death,' highlighted the significance of this discovery, beyond the initial brutality on display. 'Human skeletal remains deposited in caves, cenotes, chultuns, and other natural and artificial subterranean chambers provide some of the best contexts to investigate ritual behavior among ancient Mesoamericans,' according to Michele Bleuze, bioarcheologist at California State University, Los Angeles. Deep within the Guatemalan cave—reached via a small opening with a passageway that drops toward a pool of water—only accessible during the dry season, Bleuze said the injuries enacted upon the more than 100 adult and juvenile human bone fragments show that the remains were part of a ritual to please a Maya rain god. 'The emerging pattern that we're seeing is that there are body parts and not bodies,' Bleuze told Live Science. 'In Maya ritual, body parts are just as valuable as the whole body.' Getting from traumatic injury to rain god ritual, though, was more than just conjecture. The bones weren't buried and that the injuries occurred around the time of death, leading those studying the remains to determine the the body parts were the results of ritual dismemberment. 'The types of skeletal elements present, trauma, arrangement of bones, and bone modifications, strongly support the sacrificial nature of the deposition,' the researchers wrote. Ellen Fricano, a forensic anthropologist at Western University of Health Sciences in California, told Live Science that a beveled-edge tool, possibly akin to a hatchet, left a distinguishing mark on the left side of a skull's forehead. A similar mark was found on a child's hip bone. Even the way the bones were placed within the cave, such as four stacked skull caps in one spot, sparked questions. The experts conclude that the intense injuries, transparent volume of bones, and the inclusion of other ritual items, such as red ochre and obsidian blades, show that the blood cave wasn't a run-of-the-mill burial site. Researchers plan to do additional DNA testing to learn more about the bones. 'Right now, our focus is who are these people deposited here,' Bleuze said, 'because they're treated completely differently than the majority of the population.' The fact the cave is inaccessible other than for roughly three months in the spring offers additional reasoning behind the sacrifices. Bleuze believes the Day of the Holy Cross celebration each May 3 brought the ancient people to caves to plead with the Maya rain god for enough rain to supply a bountiful harvest. 'It is not surprising,' Bleuze wrote, 'that bioarcheologists encounter human remains that extend our understanding of the life and death of ancient Mesoamericans beyond what is provided in traditional mortuary contexts.' You Might Also Like The Do's and Don'ts of Using Painter's Tape The Best Portable BBQ Grills for Cooking Anywhere Can a Smart Watch Prolong Your Life?
