Abstract
Investigations of Midnight Terror Cave, Belize between 2008-2010 recovered a human osteological assemblage of over 10,000 bones, the largest reported for a cave in the southern Maya lowlands. Analysis indicates that approximately a quarter of the bones belong to subadults, which make up 43% of the minimum number of individuals (MNI). Determination of age at death produced a mortality curve that differs significantly from a normal curve with the numbers peaking between 5 - 10 years of age, when mortality is generally low. These figures are similar to those produced from the Cenote of Sacrifice at Chichen Itza. The large percentage of subadults suggests that children were much more important in Maya human sacrificial practices than generally recognized.
Highlights
The study of human sacrifice has had a strange history in Maya archaeology
Analysis indicates that approximately a quarter of the bones belong to subadults, which make up 43% of the minimum number of individuals (MNI)
This paper presents data on subadult remains recovered from Midnight Terror Cave (MTC), Belize
Summary
The study of human sacrifice has had a strange history in Maya archaeology. At the turn of the 20th century, Edward Thompson dredged the Cenote of Sacrifice, recovering a large assemblage of artifacts and human bone. Thompson’s dredging appeared to corroborate Bishop Diego de Landa’s 16th century account of offerings—including human victims—being thrown into the well. Thompson’s research at the Cenote of Sacrifice was widely known to archaeologists, it was a popular account (Willard, 1926) that propagated images of the sacrifice of “beautiful virgins” at the well.
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