5 days ago
New DNA analysis uncovers shocking clues behind the Maya civilization's mysterious collapse
For centuries, the story of the ancient Maya's sudden disappearance has captivated — and baffled — archaeologists.
But now, a groundbreaking genetic study reveals a very different ending: the people never left.
Researchers analyzed ancient DNA from human remains buried in Copan, a major Maya city in modern day Honduras.
Their findings challenge the long-held belief that the city's fall around 1,200 years ago marked a total population collapse.
Instead, the genetic data reveals that many of Copan's original inhabitants stayed put and bred with outsiders.
The same bloodlines that walked Copan's grand plazas in the 9th century continued living in the region for centuries, even as the political empire crumbled.
Archaeologists previously thought that the political collapse of Classic Maya city-states like Copan involved a massive population wipeout or mass exodus.
Lisa Lucero, an anthropologist at the University of Illinois, echoed this sentiment in an interview with LiveScience, stating: 'The over 7 million Maya living today are living proof that the political system crumbled, not the people.'
The collapse of the Mayan empire did not happen all at once, but over centuries of droughts, wars and stints of overpopulation.
While historians debate the true cause of its disappearance, many agree that a combination of the factors led to the abandonment of many Maya city-states.
While DNA has been recovered from other Maya sites before, this is the most detailed genetic snapshot ever taken of individuals who lived in one of the civilization's most iconic cities.
Researchers analyzed the DNA of seven corpses found at Copan, allowing them piece the puzzle together.
The newly extracted genomes were then compared to over 700 ancient and modern genomes from across the Americas, resulting in a detailed genetic map.
The findings revealed that individuals buried at Copan belonged to a broader Maya genetic lineage that dates back to 3,700 BC, particularly in what is now Belize.
However, researchers also detected genetic signatures from central Mexico's highlands, home to ancient Zapotec and Mixe peoples from roughly 500 BC to 900 AD.
This genetic mixing supports long-standing theories that Maya elites may have intermarried with outsiders to facilitate political alliances, the researchers said.
It also aligns with the idea that some rulers may have been raised in or originated from distant regions.
Even after the political collapse of Classic Maya civilization, their genetic legacy lived on in present-day populations.
The Copan people had strong links the modern-day Mexican, Guatemalan, and Honduran people.
Shigeki Nakagome, co-author of the study and assistant professor of genomic medicine at Trinity College Dublin, said: 'This supports the idea that Maya society, especially among the elite, was both diverse and mobile,' Nakagome said.
'But despite these external influences, there's a remarkable continuity of local ancestry.'
Copan was founded in 426 AD by the dynasty's first ruler, K'inich Yax K'uk' Mo', who is believed to have migrated from the central Maya region.
Strategically located along major trade routes, the city served as a cultural crossroads linking Mesoamerican civilizations from the Yucatan to the Andes.
Although Copan has been extensively studied through archaeology, its genetic history had remained largely unknown, until now.
Interestingly, among the sequenced individuals, one male buried with elaborate artifacts in Copan stood out.
His genetic profile suggested elite status, possibly a dynastic ruler.
A second male, buried nearby with no artifacts, was identified as a likely sacrificial victim.
They say small the small sample limits the study's potential to represent the complete diversity of Copán's population, let alone the broader Maya civilization.
