60-year-old Mayan sacrificial site uncovered

In the spring of 1967, construction workers encountered a setback while building an airport near Chichén Itzá in Mexico. Human remains were discovered in the path of the proposed runway, causing a halt in the construction.

The airport, intended to cater to V.I.P. visitors to Chichén Itzá, had to be temporarily suspended as archaeologists unearthed a chultún, an underground rainwater-storage container linked to a cave containing over 100 sets of human remains, mostly belonging to children.

A Rushed Excavation

Given a mere two months to excavate and exhume the bones, researchers raced against time to complete the airport construction.

Fast forward nearly 60 years, the extraction of ancient DNA from 64 of the children is shedding light on the religious practices of the ancient Maya. The sacrificial victims, dated between 500 and 900 A.D., were revealed to be local Maya boys, potentially chosen to be killed in pairs of siblings.