Genetic clues have unveiled a type of ritual child sacrifice at an ancient Maya site that consisted only of young boys, often chosen as closely related pairs that included twins. The discovery stems ...

Ritual killing was a common part of religious sacrifice in the ancient Mayan city of Chichén Itzá. For decades, media depictions cast the victims of these acts as young women and adolescent girls. In ...

The Mayan people may have preferred to sacrifice boys, a new study has discovered. The findings were made in Mexico's Yucatan peninsula, which used to be home to the ancient city of Chichén Itzá. The ...

In-depth research focusing on genetic material found at an ancient Mayan temple points to a pattern of sacrificing twin boys and other close relatives, according to a new study conducted by an ...

A study of human remains deposited over 800 years at the Maya city of Chichen Itza challenges long-held assumptions about the age and gender of sacrifice victims. The Great Pyramid (El Castillo) at ...

The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their ...

The ancient Maya civilization— peppered throughout parts of modern-day Mexico, Guatemala, Belize, El Salvador and Honduras— ...