CHILD SACRIFICES

The Maya frequently sacrificed children and infants, most commonly as dedicatory offerings for temples and other structures. Examples of Maya art from the Classic Period also depict the extraction of children’s hearts during ceremonies celebrating a new king’s ascension.

As archaeologists continue to excavate more instances of dedicatory child sacrifices are being uncovered. A dig in 1974 at the northern Belize site of Lamanai turned up the remains of five children, ranging in age from newborn to about 8 years old. It is clear that the offering of these children was part of the dedicatory activities that preceded the setting up of a stela.

In 2005 a mass grave of a group of ritually sacrificed one- to two-year olds was found in the Maya region of Comalcalco. The sacrifices were performed for dedicatory purposes during the construction of the temples at Comalcalco acropolis.

An excavation at Perú-Waka’ Guatemala turned up the remains of an infant interred under the foundation of an elite residence that was “ensouled” by the sacrificial ritual.

In 2010, archaeologists uncovered a king’s tomb in northern Guatemala that had a bowl full of severed fingers alongside the sacrificial remains of six toddlers and a baby, all killed and placed in the tomb with the king at the time of his burial.

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