Latest news with #MicheleBleuze
Yahoo
12-05-2025
- Science
- Yahoo
Archaeologists Explored a ‘Blood Cave'—and Found Chopped-Up Maya Skulls
"Hearst Magazines and Yahoo may earn commission or revenue on some items through these links." Guatemala's Cueva de Sangre, translated as 'blood cave,' isn't just a clever name. It's an apropos description of the cave former purpose, as a depository of fragments of human remains sacrificed by the Maya people to their rain god. If that sounds violent, that's because it was. The cave—and the remains within in it—were first discovered in the 1990s at Dos Pilas in Peten, part of a stretch of roughly 12 caves the Maya people frequented between 400 B.C. and 250 A.D. The 'blood cave,' though, stood out from the other caves discovered for its collection of human bones strewn across the cave floor, with dismemberment and traumatic injuries the norm. But new research presented at the annual Society for American Archaeology meeting, titled 'Black as Night, Dark as Death,' highlighted the significance of this discovery, beyond the initial brutality on display. 'Human skeletal remains deposited in caves, cenotes, chultuns, and other natural and artificial subterranean chambers provide some of the best contexts to investigate ritual behavior among ancient Mesoamericans,' according to Michele Bleuze, bioarcheologist at California State University, Los Angeles. Deep within the Guatemalan cave—reached via a small opening with a passageway that drops toward a pool of water—only accessible during the dry season, Bleuze said the injuries enacted upon the more than 100 adult and juvenile human bone fragments show that the remains were part of a ritual to please a Maya rain god. 'The emerging pattern that we're seeing is that there are body parts and not bodies,' Bleuze told Live Science. 'In Maya ritual, body parts are just as valuable as the whole body.' Getting from traumatic injury to rain god ritual, though, was more than just conjecture. The bones weren't buried and that the injuries occurred around the time of death, leading those studying the remains to determine the the body parts were the results of ritual dismemberment. 'The types of skeletal elements present, trauma, arrangement of bones, and bone modifications, strongly support the sacrificial nature of the deposition,' the researchers wrote. Ellen Fricano, a forensic anthropologist at Western University of Health Sciences in California, told Live Science that a beveled-edge tool, possibly akin to a hatchet, left a distinguishing mark on the left side of a skull's forehead. A similar mark was found on a child's hip bone. Even the way the bones were placed within the cave, such as four stacked skull caps in one spot, sparked questions. The experts conclude that the intense injuries, transparent volume of bones, and the inclusion of other ritual items, such as red ochre and obsidian blades, show that the blood cave wasn't a run-of-the-mill burial site. Researchers plan to do additional DNA testing to learn more about the bones. 'Right now, our focus is who are these people deposited here,' Bleuze said, 'because they're treated completely differently than the majority of the population.' The fact the cave is inaccessible other than for roughly three months in the spring offers additional reasoning behind the sacrifices. Bleuze believes the Day of the Holy Cross celebration each May 3 brought the ancient people to caves to plead with the Maya rain god for enough rain to supply a bountiful harvest. 'It is not surprising,' Bleuze wrote, 'that bioarcheologists encounter human remains that extend our understanding of the life and death of ancient Mesoamericans beyond what is provided in traditional mortuary contexts.' You Might Also Like The Do's and Don'ts of Using Painter's Tape The Best Portable BBQ Grills for Cooking Anywhere Can a Smart Watch Prolong Your Life?
The Independent
08-05-2025
- Science
- The Independent
Skulls found in Guatemala ‘blood cave' likely sacrificed to rain god in brutal Mayan ritual
Archaeologists have uncovered fragmented skulls from a Guatemalan cave where people were sacrificed in a brutal Maya ritual to appease the rain god. The Cueva de Sangre, or "blood cave", was first discovered in the 1990s during a survey of the archaeological site in Petén. Bones bearing marks of traumatic injury were found scattered on the floor, but they weren't well studied until recently. Now, researchers have presented evidence showing the cave was used by the Maya people for ritual human sacrifice some two millennia ago. Researchers, including Michele Bleuze from California State University, found signs of the bones having been subject to ritual dismemberment. One skull fragment, for instance, bore a mark on one side indicating it was struck by a tool like a hatchet. A similar mark on an infant's hip bone was likely made around the time of death. That the bones were scattered on the floor and not buried, with some arranged in a strange way, further indicated their use in a ritual, researchers said. Moreover, archaeologists found items known to have been used in rituals, such as obsidian blades and red ochre, in the cave. In all, the cave site contained 'more than 100 adult and juvenile human bone fragments'. 'Deposition of human remains within subterranean spaces held a special cultural significance across Mesoamerica because of the importance of the sacred, animate Earth in Amerindian Indigenous cosmology,' researchers wrote. Given the brutal nature of the injuries on the bones and their high density in the cave, researchers concluded that the Cueva de Sangreit was a site of Mayan ritual human sacrifice sometime between 400BC and 250AD. 'The types of skeletal elements present, trauma, arrangement of bones, and bone modifications strongly support the sacrificial nature of the deposition,' they wrote. The cave can be reached via a small opening that descends into a passageway opening into a pool of water. For ancient Maya, it was likely open only during the dry season from March to May after which the rains would have rendered it inaccessible. Researchers said the brutal human sacrifice rituals were likely intended to appease the Mayan rain god Chaac, but further studies, including DNA analysis of the bones, were needed to better understand the nature of such practices. Future research, they said, could also shed more light on life in Central America before the Spanish conquest.
Yahoo
08-05-2025
- Science
- Yahoo
Ancient chopped-up skulls found in Maya 'blood cave' in Guatemala
Yahoo is using AI to generate takeaways from this article. This means the info may not always match what's in the article. Reporting mistakes helps us improve the experience. Yahoo is using AI to generate takeaways from this article. This means the info may not always match what's in the article. Reporting mistakes helps us improve the experience. Yahoo is using AI to generate takeaways from this article. This means the info may not always match what's in the article. Reporting mistakes helps us improve the experience. Generate Key Takeaways When you buy through links on our articles, Future and its syndication partners may earn a commission. Stacked human skulls were found in a cave in Guatemala. | Credit: James E. Brady Deep in an underground cave in Guatemala, archaeologists stumbled upon hundreds of fragmented human bones showing signs of injury. The discovery paints a chilling picture: The people here were sacrificed during the dry season to appease the Maya rain god — or parts of them were. "The emerging pattern that we're seeing is that there are body parts and not bodies," Michele Bleuze , a bioarchaeologist at California State University, Los Angeles, told Live Science. "In Maya ritual, body parts are just as valuable as the whole body," she said. In the early 1990s, a survey underneath the archaeological site of Dos Pilas in Petén, Guatemala, revealed more than a dozen caves that were used by the Maya between 400 B.C. and A.D. 250. One of them — called the Cueva de Sangre, or "Blood Cave" — had a large collection of human bones scattered on the floor, many of which showed evidence of traumatic injuries around the time of death. In a presentation at the annual Society for American Archaeology meeting on April 24, Bleuze detailed the team's analysis of the Cueva de Sangre bones and explained why they believe the cave was the site of an ancient Maya sacrifice two millennia ago. Related: Mysterious Tikal altar that wasn't Maya after all includes at least 4 skeletons — and 1 was a child "There are a few lines of evidence that we used to determine that this was more likely a ritual site than not," Ellen Fricano , a forensic anthropologist at Western University of Health Sciences in California who examined the injuries to the bones, told Live Science. For example, the bones were on the surface, rather than buried, and the injuries to the bones suggest ritual dismemberment, rather than immediate burial. A fragment of the left side of the forehead, for instance, had a mark suggesting that someone used a tool with a beveled edge — like a hatchet — on the skull, Fricano said. A child's hip bone had a similar cut. Both appear to have been made around the time of death. A fragment of skull bone that has been removed with a beveled implement is shown on the right; on the left, a line drawing of a human skull showing the area the bone fragment came from. The bone was found in Cueva de Sangra. | Credit: Michele M. Bleuze Some human remains were also arranged in a nonanatomic way, pointing to a ritualistic nature to their collection. On the ground in one part of the cave, excavators found a series of four stacked skull caps. The combination of injuries discovered on the bones; the high density of human remains in the cave; and the presence of ritual items, such as red ocher and obsidian blades, strongly suggests that Cueva de Sangre was the site of an ancient Maya ritual sacrifice rather than a standard burial practice, Fricano said. Sacrifices for a rainy season Cueva de Sangre is accessed via a small opening and a descent into a low passageway that opens onto a pool of water. Both today and in the past, the cave would have been flooded for most of the year. RELATED STORIES —Secret of ancient Maya blue pigment revealed from cracks and clues on a dozen bowls from Chichén Itzá —Mysterious Maya underground structure unearthed in Mexico —Lasers reveal Maya city, including thousands of structures, hidden in Mexico The cave was likely accessible only during the dry season, between March and May, and the researchers think this timing is a clue to the meaning of the sacrifice. One important contemporary Maya ritual celebration is called the Day of the Holy Cross . Occurring on May 3, the celebration happens just before the onset of the rains, and people visit caves to pray for rain and a good harvest. A clear answer to the mystery of the bones in the cave will need to wait a bit longer, Bleuze said. Analysis of the bones from Cueva de Sangre has only just begun. Further work, including ancient DNA and stable isotope analyses, is planned, followed by peer-reviewed publications. "Right now, our focus is who are these people deposited here, because they're treated completely differently than the majority of the population," Bleuze said.
