Archaeologists Unearth Grim Details of Ancient Religious Ritual

An extensive DNA analysis of a child’s skeletal remains from a pre-Colombian settlement by archaeologists and genetic scientists has revealed grim details about an ancient religious ritual. The study was published August 13 in the journal Antiquity .

The body was recovered from an area known in the 13th and 14th centuries as Paquimé, which Ancient Origins reports was “essentially the capital of pre-Colombian Mogollon culture.” Mogollon culture refers to indigenous people from Southern New Mexico and Arizona, Northern Sonora and Chihuahua, and Western Texas.

Researchers believe the adolescent was sacrificed by his parents between 700 and 800 years ago as part of an ancient religious ritual. The body was buried near a “unique structure” which was known as the House of the Well to Paquimé’s citizens. Previous excavations of this building and its underground chambers have yielded a number of “ritual objects” which points to the site being a “ceremonial center.”

The child’s body was buried beneath a support pole, the first cadaver archaeologists have found buried in such a spot at this site. Scientists believe this further points to this ritual being especially notable.

“Studies of pre-contact Mesoamerican rituals have shown that human sacrifice was one of the most potent ways to placate the gods or receive their assistance, with elite sacrifice being the most powerful,” the study notes.

A DNA analysis of the remains found that the child had a significant “run of homozygosity” inside its genes, meaning that the parents were likely of very close relation—even “more closely related than if they’d been first cousins.” Though relationships among family members have historically been taboo in most cultures, some ancient societies made exceptions for elites so that their bloodline could be furthered.

Researchers were quick to note, though, that since the child had clearly been a victim of ritual sacrifice, maintaining the family’s bloodline wasn’t a primary objective. “Sacrificing a child born of two people from a local, elite lineage would have been a powerful way to consecrate the House of the Well and augment social, political, and ritual standing,” the study explained.

Lead author Jakob Sedig explained in a press release that although the skeleton’s analysis answered a few questions about the ancient society, many are still unanswered.

“ Archaeologists have studied Paquimé for decades and have learned much about its rise and fall, the people who lived there, their ritual practices, and more,” Sedig explained. “However, many questions remain, especially about the site's social hierarchy and how Paquimé's inhabitants were biologically related to each other and their neighbors.”

Sedig hopes to continue his research into the ancient society through analyzing DNA from Paquimé’s other residents and those from “northern and western Mexico to help us understand how different groups moved and mixed through time.”