Ancient Maya DNA shows male kids were sacrificed in pairs at Chichén Itzá Twins play an auspicious role in Maya mythology, most notably in the Popol Vuh.

“These are the first ancient Maya genomes to be published,” said Johannes Krause, an archaeogeneticist at the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology in Leipzig, Germany.

A new analysis of ancient DNA from the ancient Maya city of Chichén Itzá in Mexico challenges long-held misconceptions about the victims of ritual sacrifice.

Visitors do not get to see the wondrous, terrifying and whimsical world of the supernatural as the ancient Maya intended. Perhaps if they did, a cracked mirror would inspire wonder rather than fear.

Nestled among impressive pyramids and temples, the ancient Maya were expert geo-engineers, artists, and mathematicians with complex knowledge of astronomy and movements of celestial bodies.

[ Related: Ancient Maya masons had a smart way to make plaster stronger. The altar’s sacrifices In the 1960s, archaeologists found a cut stone with well-preserved text describing the conflict ...

For the ancient Maya, lightning was raw power. It was basic to all creation and destruction. Because of this, the ancient Maya carved and painted many images of K’awiil.

From ethnographic accounts and ancient Mayan imagery, we know that the Maya engaged in various forms of body modification, including piercing, body painting, scarification, and tattooing. However ...

A new analysis of ancient DNA from the ancient Maya city of Chichén Itzá in Mexico challenges long-held misconceptions about the victims of ritual sacrifice.

A new analysis of ancient DNA from the ancient Maya city of Chichén Itzá in Mexico challenges long-held misconceptions about the victims of ritual sacrifice.