Implications of age and sex determinations of ancient Maya sacrificial victims at Midnight Terror Cave

Dados Bibliográficos

ID4677348
AutoresC Verdugo (0000-0002-1808-4033, Human Paleogenomics Laboratory, Department of Anthropology University of California, Santa Cruz Santa Cruz California USA, autor correspondente), Kimberly Zhu (Department of Anthropology University of California, Los Angeles Los Angeles California USA), Michael Prout (0000-0002-4293-2768, Department of Anthropology California State University, Los Angeles Los Angeles California USA), Nasreen Broomandkhoshbacht (0000-0001-5350-1608, Human Paleogenomics Laboratory, Department of Anthropology University of California, Santa Cruz Santa Cruz California USA), Alison Galloway (0009-0005-2243-2933, Human Paleogenomics Laboratory, Department of Anthropology University of California, Santa Cruz Santa Cruz California USA), Lars Fehren-Schmitz (0000-0001-5510-1114, University of California, Santa Cruz), Lars Fehren‐schmitz (Human Paleogenomics Laboratory, Department of Anthropology University of California, Santa Cruz Santa Cruz California USA), James E Brady (0000-0002-5223-6694, Department of Anthropology California State University, Los Angeles Los Angeles California USA)
Ano2020
Volume30
Fascículo4
Páginas458-468
Data de publicação2020-07-01
Peer ReviewedSim
Open AccessSim
TipoARTICLE
PeriódicoInternational Journal of Osteoarchaeology (JOURNAL)
Identificadores do periódicoISSN: 1047-482X • E-ISSN: 1099-1212
EditoraWiley (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1002/oa.2874
OpenAlexW3014362316
IdiomaEN
Citações recebidas3
Referências citadas40

The prurient element in the popular notion of the ancient Maya sacrifice of "beautiful virgins" during the first half of the 20th century appears to have made researchers wary of studying women in human sacrifice. Interest in human sacrifice arose in the 1990s along with the formulation of the warfare hypothesis for the collapse of Maya civilization so that models of human sacrifice often assumed that victims were largely male war captives. The present study reports on the detailed examination of all the pelvises in the Midnight Terror Cave skeletal assemblage, using osteological and paleogenomic techniques to shed light on the age and sex composition of sacrificed individuals. Our analysis demonstrates the presence of both males and females ranging from subadult to older adult ages. All four paleogenomic sex determinations on samples from subadults were determined female. Additionally, results indicate females fall into two age categories suggesting that sacrificed women may have served as deity impersonators in rituals dedicated to female deities

Ancient history · Archaeology · Bioarchaeology · Cave · Civilization · Human sacrifice · Maya · Midnight · Osteology · Sacrifice · Archaeology and ancient environmental studies · Forensic and Genetic Research · Forensic Anthropology and Bioarchaeology Studies · History