Ancient genomes reveal insights into ritual life at Chichén Itzá

Rodrigo Barquera (), Oana Castillo-Chávez (), Kathrin Nägele, Patxi Pérez-Ramallo, Diana Iraíz Hernández-Zaragoza, András Szolek, Adam Benjamin Rohrlach, Pablo Librado, Ainash Childebayeva, Raffaela Angelina Bianco, Bridget S. Penman, Victor Acuña-Alonzo, Mary Lucas, Julio César Lara-Riegos, María Ermila Moo-Mezeta, Julio César Torres-Romero, Patrick Roberts, Oliver Kohlbacher, Christina Warinner and Johannes Krause ()
Additional contact information
Rodrigo Barquera: Max-Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology (MPI-EVA)
Oana Castillo-Chávez: Mérida
Kathrin Nägele: Max-Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology (MPI-EVA)
Patxi Pérez-Ramallo: Max Planck Institute of Geoanthropology
Diana Iraíz Hernández-Zaragoza: Max-Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology (MPI-EVA)
András Szolek: University of Tübingen
Adam Benjamin Rohrlach: Max-Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology (MPI-EVA)
Pablo Librado: Institut de Biologia Evolutiva (CSIC—Universitat Pompeu Fabra)
Ainash Childebayeva: Max-Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology (MPI-EVA)
Raffaela Angelina Bianco: Max-Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology (MPI-EVA)
Bridget S. Penman: University of Warwick
Victor Acuña-Alonzo: Escuela Nacional de Antropología e Historia (ENAH)
Mary Lucas: Max Planck Institute of Geoanthropology
Julio César Lara-Riegos: Universidad Autónoma de Yucatán (UADY)
María Ermila Moo-Mezeta: Universidad Autónoma de Yucatán (UADY)
Julio César Torres-Romero: Universidad Autónoma de Yucatán (UADY)
Patrick Roberts: Max Planck Institute of Geoanthropology
Oliver Kohlbacher: University of Tübingen
Christina Warinner: Max-Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology (MPI-EVA)
Johannes Krause: Max-Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology (MPI-EVA)

Nature, 2024, vol. 630, issue 8018, 912-919

Abstract: Abstract The ancient city of Chichén Itzá in Yucatán, Mexico, was one of the largest and most influential Maya settlements during the Late and Terminal Classic periods (ad 600–1000) and it remains one of the most intensively studied archaeological sites in Mesoamerica1–4. However, many questions about the social and cultural use of its ceremonial spaces, as well as its population’s genetic ties to other Mesoamerican groups, remain unanswered2. Here we present genome-wide data obtained from 64 subadult individuals dating to around ad 500–900 that were found in a subterranean mass burial near the Sacred Cenote (sinkhole) in the ceremonial centre of Chichén Itzá. Genetic analyses showed that all analysed individuals were male and several individuals were closely related, including two pairs of monozygotic twins. Twins feature prominently in Mayan and broader Mesoamerican mythology, where they embody qualities of duality among deities and heroes5, but until now they had not been identified in ancient Mayan mortuary contexts. Genetic comparison to present-day people in the region shows genetic continuity with the ancient inhabitants of Chichén Itzá, except at certain genetic loci related to human immunity, including the human leukocyte antigen complex, suggesting signals of adaptation due to infectious diseases introduced to the region during the colonial period.

Date: 2024
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DOI: 10.1038/s41586-024-07509-7

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