Series
.

Why Did the Ancient Maya Sacrifice Children?

August 14, 2024
Jenny tells the tale of ancient Maya child sacrifices, which may point to surprising facts about their belief system.
the details
Genetic testing on ancient Maya children refutes past claims about their cultural practices. Scientists examined bone DNA of more than 60 sacrificed children found in a chultun, or underground chamber, near Chichén...
+ READ MORE
Show transcript
00:00
Brother. I have a story about the ancient Maya's sacrifice rituals
00:06
Hopefully, we don't wake up the gods while I'm telling
00:09
you this. Oh,
00:10
no. So a new study examined the DNA of more than
00:14
60 sacrificed Maya Children dating back between 500 to 900.
00:21
Ce w Wait, wait,
00:23
what is ce I think it's the same thing as we continue
00:28
Their bones were found in a trung or underground chamber near
00:33
Chichen Itza. I been there.
00:37
Yeah, we, we've all been there.
00:39
We have, I have,
00:40
it's cool. It's really nice.
00:42
Anyway, sorry, go ahead.
00:43
And their DNA revealed why the Maya probably sacrificed them in the
00:48
first place. The study found that all the Children were boys
00:53
most between 3 to 4 years old.
00:56
Many of them were brothers and cousins and some were identical twins
01:01
Wait, wait,
01:01
we only boys. I'm getting OK.
01:05
This connects to the Maya's sacred text,
01:08
Bool V and the story of the hero twins.
01:10
Wait. What was the hero,
01:11
the hero twins? What's the hero twins?
01:14
That's all, I'm sorry.
01:18
The hero twins. What the story with the hero twins is
01:23
we got Hun Au and Chouki.
01:27
I, I think I'm butchering their names,
01:29
but bear with me.
01:30
We're mythological twin boys with supernatural powers that conquered the underworld and
01:36
were sacrificed and resurrected.
01:39
So the maya may have sacrificed young boys as a tribute to
01:44
the hero twins and to ensure a good harvest,
01:48
this means getting sacrificed may not have been a punishment.
01:52
It may have been an honor reserved for only a few families
01:57
And this kind of reminds me of apocalypto.
02:00
Will they also get sacrificed in that movie?
02:03
You've never seen Apocalypse though?
02:04
I mean, I know I've seen,
02:06
you've never seen Apocalypse?
02:07
No. Are you serious?
02:09
And you're Mexican? It's a Mexican movie.
02:12
Well, brother Jesus Christ,
02:15
brother, I'm so disappointed.
02:17
It's such a beautiful movie.
02:19
Well, not a beautiful movie.
02:20
Well, it's such a great movie but it's really gruesome.
02:23
But basically they sacrifice people chop off their heads and get them
02:31
by the little hair that they have and they just toss them
02:34
down the stairs. That sounds beautiful.
02:39
Beautiful Brother. It was not beautiful,
02:42
but it is a great movie and it's kind of based on
02:45
this, but that was,
02:46
but that's not an honor.
02:47
This is an honor.
02:50
That's so crazy though.
02:51
I mean, young twin boys,
02:53
Primo's brothers being sacrificed for the hero,
02:56
twins history. No,
03:02
a yes, you don't have a twin,
03:04
do. I don't think so.