Science
Archaeologists Uncover Disturbing Evidence Of Human Sacrifice In Guatemala’s ‘Blood Cave’
How the appropriately dubbed ‘Blood Cave’ was used thousands of years ago has been clarified by new study.
The ‘Blood Cave’ or Cueva de Sangre has long captivated scientists.
One of over a dozen caverns in the area that were utilised by the Maya people, the Indigenous people of Mesoamerica, namely southern Mexico and northern Central America, is this Maya ruin, which is situated beneath the archaeological site of Dos Pilas in Petén, Guatemala.
Human remains previously found in the underground cave have provided scholars with a deeper understanding of the Maya society, and archaeologists have determined that the caves were most likely occupied by the inhabitants between 400 BC and 250 AD.
However, the bones were discovered in the early 1990s, thus their discovery is not new. However, the state in which the hundreds of bones were found was the most intriguing aspect of their discovery.
Several have demonstrated that they did, in fact, exhibit signs of traumatic injuries at the time of their passing.
According to recent investigation, the remains were probably those of humans who were dismembered as part of a ceremonial sacrifice around 2,000 years ago, which gives the Blood Cave its eerie moniker.
The assumption that sacrifices were made here is further supported by artefacts found in the caverns, such as obsidian knives.
Experts have also pointed out the hints that suggest the victims weren’t buried there after apparently passing away from these wounds.
Michele Bleuze, a bioarchaeologist at California State University, Los Angeles, spoke to Live Science and said: “The emerging pattern that we’re seeing is that there are body parts and not bodies.”
“In Maya ritual, body parts are just as valuable as the whole body.”
Ellen Fricano, a forensic anthropologist at Western University of Health Sciences, examined the bones that were found and told Live Science: “There are a few lines of evidence that we used to determine that this was more likely a ritual site than not.”
The fractures to the bones imply ritual dismemberment rather than prompt burial, she pointed out, and the bones were on the surface rather than buried.
Additionally, there was a mark on a piece of the left side of the forehead that suggested someone had used a hatchet or similar object on the skull, and that this was done around the time of death.
Bleuze stated that the investigation of the bones had only just began and that further research was necessary to better comprehend the ceremony and solve the riddle.
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