LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA—Analysis of the remains of more than 100 sacrifice victims who were buried in Belize’s Midnight Terror Cave during the Maya Classic Period (A.D. 250 to 925) has detected blue fibers clinging to dental plaque in the mouths of two of the dead, according to a Live Science report. Archaeologist Amy Chan said that a similar “Maya blue” pigment has been found at other sites, where it may have been used in ceremonies to paint the bodies of sacrificial victims. Blue fibers have also been recovered from an agave-based alcoholic beverage found in burials at Mexico’s ancient city of Teotihuacan. The blue fibers found in the dental calculus may have been left behind by blue gags left in the mouths of sacrificial victims over an extended period of time, Chan suggests, although the rate at which plaque forms and hardens into dental calculus is not known. Further study is required to understand where the blue fibers originated, Chan and her colleagues concluded. Read the original scholarly article about this research in International Journal of Osteoarchaeology. To read about an ancient Maya city on the border between Belize and Guatemala, go to “Off the Grid: El Pilar, Belize.”
Blue Fibers Found in Dental Calculus of Maya Sacrifice Victims
News October 11, 2022
Recommended Articles
Features January/February 2023
Jungle Realm of the Snake Queens
How women ascended the ranks in the highstakes world of Maya politics
Digs & Discoveries July/August 2022
The Great Maize Migration
Off the Grid March/April 2018
El Pilar, Belize
Artifacts May/June 2017
Maya Jade Pectoral
-
Features September/October 2022
1,000 Fathoms Down
In the Gulf of Mexico, archaeologists believe they have identified a nineteenth-century whaling ship crewed by a diverse group of New Englanders
(Courtesy the New Bedford Whaling Museum) -
Letter from Germany September/October 2022
Berlin’s Medieval Origins
In the midst of modern construction, archaeologists search for evidence of the city’s earliest days
(Courtesy Landesdenkmalamt Berlin/Michael Malliaris) -
Artifacts September/October 2022
Nordic Bronze Age Figurine
(Courtesy Thomas Terberger) -
Digs & Discoveries September/October 2022
The Case of Tut’s Missing Collar
(Courtesy Marc Gabolde)