August 13, 2019

New Research on the Dead Found in the Great Cenote at Chichen Itza

Tooth enamel from the over 200 sacrificial victims found in the great cenote at Chichen Itza show that they came from the area and all across Mexico. Immigrants were coming to the area from all across Mexico during Chichen Itza’s heyday. The city hosted a population of 50,000 in the Mesoamerican post-classic, after 900 CE. Half of the victims found in the cenote were children between 4-6 years of age.

The victims show evidence of flaying, impalement, skinning. Their bodies look to have been displayed before being thrown into the denote. Some were also displayed on skull racks.

Scientific methods on the tooth enamel of 40 of the victims was carried out. These show that some of the victims came from as far away as Honduras, Cholula and Tula in central Mexico, Veracruz, and from local areas. This proves that Chichen’s influence spread across all of Mesoamerica.

The American Journal of Physical Anthropology Magazine published the research.

Forbes.com has the news of the report, with the scientific analysis used by the researchers.

https://www.forbes.com/sites/carlymiller/2019/08/09/skulls-analyzed-from-the-mayan-sacred-cenote-show-that-human-sacrifices-were-sourced-from-far-and-wide-across-mexico-in-1000-ad/#30cea3f4e8b7

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