Written in Blood: The History, Reasons, and Methods of Mayan

Human Sacrifice

Devlin McElrone

ANTH 3380

Maya Archaeology

April 26, 2020

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Introduction

The Maya are one of the most prolific, famous, and often-studied civilizations in the

Ancient Americas. Their notoriety came from their vast, complex cityscapes, large scale temples,

and perhaps most infamously, their practice of human sacrifice. The average person’s

knowledge of Maya human sacrifice often starts and ends with them sacrificing to appease their

gods. Despite being true, this practice is a lot more complex as it played a role in the daily life of

every citizen and played a huge role in their religious beliefs. This paper aims to discuss the

religious groundwork of their sacrificial rituals along with breaking down the different methods

of sacrifice.

Religious Background

A lot of what is known about the Maya comes from stelae, ceramics and other portable

art, and most of all, the Popol Vuh. The Popol Vuh is a book of codices written by Quiche Maya

post-Spanish Conquest and is an account of the Maya religion from their standpoint.

Unfortunately, this book wasn’t written by the “original” Maya, instead it was written by a group

of people who descended into the Maya area from central Mexico. They were gradually

naturalized into the Maya people as they made their way into these societies over the course of

decades to centuries (Christenson 2007, 21-5). This means that these outsiders, now had fully

immersed themselves into Maya society and were therefore valid sources for the ins and outs of

the Maya beliefs.

The origin of human sacrifice by the Maya starts with the creation story outlined in the

Popol Vuh. The creation of human beings occurs in three stages that progressively get closer to

actual human beings. The first stage is that of animals, which is the first stage that the gods

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created. These were animals that were told by the gods to worship them by speaking. These

animals were incapable of speech and instead squawked, barked, chirped, everything but human

speech. The gods were not pleased with their creations and decided to make different beings to

worship them while downgrading the animals’ role to be killed and eaten. The next group made

were the people of mud who couldn’t speak properly and were brittle, shoddy, and unable to

worship the gods. These qualities made them less than suitable and led to them being taken apart

as the gods started creating a new group of people. The next group were the people made of

wood who were able to speak properly, although they were seen by the gods as cold, lifeless

beings (Christenson 2007, 62-70). They were the most successful form of people to that point

although the gods didn’t like the fact that they were expressionless husks with no blood and no

brain. This caused the gods to wipe out the wooden people in three ways--with a massive flood,

having their eyes gouged out, and causing them to be attacked by jaguars. This brutal ending led

to the creation of the final human, people created with the combination of yellow and white corn

along with the blood from the gods (Christenson 2007, 70-5). This is the base for Maya creation

and although there are some variations to the story, there was one constant- the power of blood.

To the Maya, blood was one of the most divine substances. It was seen as the mortar of

Mayan rituals and religious life (Bower 1986, 360). This played a direct role in the creation story

as the Maya believed they had to give the blood back to the gods and in return the gods would

give the Maya the essential resources to thrive (Romey 2005, 43). Blood was burned, let, and

smeared on certain objects (including their faces). This whole process was, as Kukul described it,

“the representation of a divinity…It is believed that the deities feed on the offering” (Cal, Bol,

Kukul 2013, 568). The hope was that this blood was going to be used to please angered gods and

balance any haywire natural forces and secure a promising future (Romey 2005, 43). The most

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important blood was that of royalty like kings and queens. Royal blood was seen as the most

divine by the Maya as these rulers were already perceived as heavily connected to the gods and

their blood was the embodiment of deific fluids (Stuart 1984, 16).

Sacrificial rituals can also be linked to the Maya calendar system that had been used. The

Maya had two main calendars that were used simultaneously, the first is the Haab which is a

solar calendar and consists of roughly 365 days and the second was the Tzolkin which was a

calendar that consisted of 260 days and was based on human pregnancy (Stuart 1984, 9). Some

ritual sacrifices were in directly tied to the calendar as well as the appearance of the morning

star, better known as Venus. Venus’ appearance goes through phases where it comes up after the

sun, goes down for eight days, then comes back during dawn. Venus held a lot of significance to

the Maya as it signifies warfare, but the dawn phase or Morning Star may have been an optimal

time for religious leaders to show allegiance with the gods (Zorich 2012, 28). This concept is

further strengthened by the fact that Priests were well versed in the application of the calendars

in everyday life while also managing rituals (Kukul 2013, 561).

Methods of Sacrifice

The Maya sacrificed people in numerous ways using different items and venues that they

knew of. Sacrifice by the Maya came in the form of auto sacrifice and executory sacrifice which

occurred in urban centers, caves, and cenotes.

Auto sacrifice is the act of bloodletting or cutting one’s self to release blood for a

spiritual or religion-based reason (Stuart 1984, 12). Sacrifice, despite what most people think of

as its definition in relation to ancient cultures, is not always a fatal affair. Bloodletting was

something that had been practiced for ages although it was more prevalent in artwork and other

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mediums in the Classic Period (AD 250-900) (Romey 2005, 43). Auto sacrificing was something

that mostly affected some of the highest members in society, the rulers. These rulers played a

crucial role in the beliefs of the city they ruled over as these figures asserted themselves into the

place of gods. The divinity of these rulers came with a price however, in the form of giving the

gods samples of the most precious blood around. This practice was expected from every ruler no

matter their gender and was seen as something that only furthered their ties to the heavens to and

to the people they ruled over (Stuart 1984, 7, 9). Rulers would elicit blood using sharp objects

such as blades and pointed objects made out of obsidian, jade, chert, and even stingray spines

(Haines, Willink, Maxwell 2008, 89). Blood was taken from a few spots on the body such as the

ear lobes, cheeks, tongue, and for males, the penis (Haines, Willink, Maxwell 2008, 89). The

purpose of this self-sacrifice was primarily for the giving of blood to the gods in order to keep

cosmic and earthly balance, but there is also evidence of them using it to induce hallucinations.

This can be seen in Post Classic (AD 950-1500) artwork that depicts these rulers bloodletting

with serpents. It is summed up best by Haines, Willink, and Maxwell, “the loss of blood may not

only induce the "dreaming" state sought for vision inducement, but also allow the penitent to

literally teeter on the brink between the mortal world (the world of the living) and the

supernatural world (death and the afterlife)” (Haines, Willink, Maxwell 2008, 89).

Despite there being a history of deathless auto sacrifice done by the Maya, they still

carried out many executionary sacrifices. The Maya sacrificed people often as the need for blood

wasn’t just quenched solely from rulers. Many times Maya citizens were not the subject of

mutilation, a lot of the time, captives taken during wars were the victims. The captives brought

back from these wars had one of two potential fates, both leading to torture, followed by death.

The first was that they would be put into a ball game against a home team made up of the

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captors’ most experienced players and win or lose, they were still sacrificed. The second option

for the captives didn’t involve ballgames and instead they were just sacrificed in an urban center

so onlookers could watch. (Hernandez, Palka 2019, 33). These victims were most of the time just

average warriors captured in battle or people captured from the city in a raid, however this

wasn’t always the case. Opposing rulers were also occasionally kidnapped from their city and

had the same two options that regular captives had, the only difference was the increased power

that was obtained from a noble as opposed to a more common person (Miller, Taube 1993, 96).

There were numerous and creative methods used by the Maya to sacrifice people. Often

times, victims started out by being tortured, but not enough to kill them. This could involve

scalping, beating, cutting, and even burning the person (Miller, Taube 1993, 96). A popular

method of killing the victim was decapitation. There are many depictions in Classic Maya

artwork of decapitated victims’ heads being used as trophies hung around the hips of some and

the necks of others. Lintel 12 at Yaxchilan depicts a lord with a necklace made up of small bones

with a skull as the middle piece (Moser 1973, 14). This was only a depiction of a trophy head

and there is very little physical evidence of these skulls, but there are still a few examples. One

of them comes from Pacbitun and dates to around the Late Classic Period (AD 600-800). The

skull has holes for suspension on a piece of clothing and has writing engraved into it that says,

“it is the…bone of.” The writing is damaged and isn’t complete, but it is assumed that it would

give the name of the person who owned the skull (Wrobel, Helmke, Gibbs, Micheletti, Stanchly,

Powis 2019, 219). Sacrificial victims were often found with their skulls missing from the

remainder of their skeleton, a common occurrence during the Classic Period (Moser 1973, 12).

Another type of execution was the removal of the heart from the body. Unfortunately, there

aren’t many detailed descriptions of the sacrifice itself, but some believe that the process was

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similar to the Aztecs’ with a priest or ruler slitting the abdomen with a knife and reaching under

the ribcage to grab the heart. Despite this being a hallmark form of sacrifice for other Central

American groups, there is very little evidence of removal of the heart by the Maya in the form of

markings on rib cages of sacrificial victims, who were identified by being found in mass graves

with a lack of burial goods (Tiesler, Cucina 2006, 493, 494). Other possible forms of sacrifice

include but are not limited to arrow killings and scapedeers- where the captives are bound in a

similar fashion to deer and then killed (Miller, Taube 1993, 96).

Where were these people sacrificed? Many times, these sacrifices were done in front of

monuments such as temples. These were structures situated in the middle of the city and a place

that people could watch spectacles, including sacrifices. Sacrificing rituals such as decapitation

and heart removal are thought to have taken place in these areas (Kukul 2013, 569). Another area

that sacrifices took place are Cenotes which are natural sinkholes that hold fresh water. These

were seen as sacred places because they were believed to be doorways to Xibalba, or the Maya

underworld (Romey 2005, 44). A particularly famous Cenote is one that was close to Chichen

Itza as many diving expeditions have revealed gold, jade, and human remains (Miller Taube

1993, 58). It was once said that the cenote was a place that virgin women were thrown into,

although that belief has been proven false as there is no evidence that virgins were thrown in.

Instead, there were prepubescent boys and girls that were both sacrificed in the Cenote. Despite

this being a singular Cenote, many others have also been found to have similar offerings. The

last major spot that sacrifices took place was caves. Caves, like cenotes, are seen as entrances to

Xibalba and hold divine powers. Xibalba was honored by goods being placed in the caves, and

also by becoming the final resting place for many. These caves primarily held the deceased that

weren’t sacrificed, an example is Gordon Cave 3 in Copan that housed over 600 skeletons dated

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at around Early to Middle Preclassic period (1100–800 BC) (Mosey, Brady 2012, 161). These

aren’t the only people housed in these caves, others appear to be sacrifice victims. An example of

this is the Crystal Maiden. She was a 20-year-old woman sacrificed among others in the Actun

Tunichil Muknal cave. Over time, a crystalline coating formed around her bones, cementing

them in place. She is believed to be a sacrifice victim because of the lack of grave goods with her

and her sprawling body looks as if it was thrown down on the ground, not carefully placed

(Mosey, Brady 2012, 163).

Artwork of Sacrifice

Artwork made by the Maya gives archaeologists one of the best glimpses into Mayan

practices and beliefs. This artwork can help show different sacrificial methods that may not have

been preserved or are found elsewhere. This is an example of Mayan artwork that depicts

sacrifice.

Figure 1. Mayan Queen Auto Sacrificing (BBC 2010, 1)

This lintel from 24 Yaxchilan depicts a queen auto sacrificing and a king. The queen’s

auto sacrificing can be seen in the form of a spiked piece of rope or twine being pulled through a

gap in her tongue. However, there is an absence of blood being spilled out of the tongue. Blood

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is usually portrayed as a sectioned line or round beads which in this case, cannot be seen flowing

from the tongue. They are definitely an elite couple because not only are they bloodletting, but

they are also dressed in large headdresses, they are adorned with jewelry, and the male has a

large staff (Stuart 1984, 7-10).

Conclusion

To conclude, sacrifice to the Maya was a diverse and deeply religious action that helped

the Maya feel a closer connection to their creation and their deities. With the power that is held

by blood, they felt as if they could maintain balance by releasing it to the gods in numerous

different ways. They incorporated nature into their practices through the uses of Cenotes, caves,

and calendrical cycles. Although we lack a lot of information on certain sacrificial practices

carried out by the Maya, the Maya area is vast and still holds the answers to many secrets.

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