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data-event-name="pinnable-header.vector-toc.pin">move to sidebar</button> <button class="vector-pinnable-header-toggle-button vector-pinnable-header-unpin-button" data-event-name="pinnable-header.vector-toc.unpin">hide</button> </div> <ul class="vector-toc-contents" id="mw-panel-toc-list"> <li id="toc-mw-content-text" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-1"> <a href="#" class="vector-toc-link"> <div class="vector-toc-text">(Top)</div> </a> </li> <li id="toc-Crisis_and_sacrifice" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-1 vector-toc-list-item-expanded"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Crisis_and_sacrifice"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">1</span> <span>Crisis and sacrifice</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-Crisis_and_sacrifice-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-Sacrifices_in_calendar_and_everyday_rituals" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-1 vector-toc-list-item-expanded"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Sacrifices_in_calendar_and_everyday_rituals"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">2</span> <span>Sacrifices in calendar and everyday rituals</span> </div> </a> <button aria-controls="toc-Sacrifices_in_calendar_and_everyday_rituals-sublist" class="cdx-button cdx-button--weight-quiet cdx-button--icon-only vector-toc-toggle"> <span class="vector-icon mw-ui-icon-wikimedia-expand"></span> <span>Toggle Sacrifices in calendar and everyday rituals subsection</span> </button> <ul id="toc-Sacrifices_in_calendar_and_everyday_rituals-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> <li id="toc-Human_sacrifice" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-2"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Human_sacrifice"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">2.1</span> <span>Human sacrifice</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-Human_sacrifice-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> <li id="toc-Child_sacrifice" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-3"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Child_sacrifice"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">2.1.1</span> <span>Child sacrifice</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-Child_sacrifice-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-Animal_sacrifice" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-2"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Animal_sacrifice"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">2.2</span> <span>Animal sacrifice</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-Animal_sacrifice-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> <li id="toc-Examples" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-3"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Examples"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">2.2.1</span> <span>Examples</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-Examples-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-Archaeological_controversy_&_misconceptions" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-3"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Archaeological_controversy_&_misconceptions"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">2.2.2</span> <span>Archaeological controversy & misconceptions</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-Archaeological_controversy_&_misconceptions-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> </ul> </li> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-Origins,_meaning,_and_social_function" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-1 vector-toc-list-item-expanded"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Origins,_meaning,_and_social_function"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">3</span> <span>Origins, meaning, and social function</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-Origins,_meaning,_and_social_function-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-See_also" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-1 vector-toc-list-item-expanded"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#See_also"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">4</span> <span>See also</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-See_also-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-Notes" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-1 vector-toc-list-item-expanded"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Notes"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">5</span> <span>Notes</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-Notes-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-References" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-1 vector-toc-list-item-expanded"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#References"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">6</span> <span>References</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-References-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-Further_reading" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-1 vector-toc-list-item-expanded"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Further_reading"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">7</span> <span>Further reading</span> </div> </a> <ul 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.sidebar{width:100%!important;clear:both;float:none!important;margin-left:0!important;margin-right:0!important}}body.skin--responsive .mw-parser-output .sidebar a>img{max-width:none!important}@media screen{html.skin-theme-clientpref-night .mw-parser-output .sidebar:not(.notheme) .sidebar-list-title,html.skin-theme-clientpref-night .mw-parser-output .sidebar:not(.notheme) .sidebar-title-with-pretitle{background:transparent!important}html.skin-theme-clientpref-night .mw-parser-output .sidebar:not(.notheme) .sidebar-title-with-pretitle a{color:var(--color-progressive)!important}}@media screen and (prefers-color-scheme:dark){html.skin-theme-clientpref-os .mw-parser-output .sidebar:not(.notheme) .sidebar-list-title,html.skin-theme-clientpref-os .mw-parser-output .sidebar:not(.notheme) .sidebar-title-with-pretitle{background:transparent!important}html.skin-theme-clientpref-os .mw-parser-output .sidebar:not(.notheme) .sidebar-title-with-pretitle a{color:var(--color-progressive)!important}}@media print{body.ns-0 .mw-parser-output .sidebar{display:none!important}}</style><table class="sidebar nomobile nowraplinks" style="width:16.0em"><tbody><tr><th class="sidebar-title"><a href="/wiki/Maya_mythology" title="Maya mythology">Maya mythology</a><br />and <a href="/wiki/Maya_religion" title="Maya religion">religion</a></th></tr><tr><td class="sidebar-image"><span typeof="mw:File"><a href="/wiki/File:Maize_God_and_Itzamn%C3%A1.JPG" class="mw-file-description" title="Maya deities"><img alt="Maya deities" src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/0/04/Maize_God_and_Itzamn%C3%A1.JPG/150px-Maize_God_and_Itzamn%C3%A1.JPG" decoding="async" width="150" height="124" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/0/04/Maize_God_and_Itzamn%C3%A1.JPG/225px-Maize_God_and_Itzamn%C3%A1.JPG 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/0/04/Maize_God_and_Itzamn%C3%A1.JPG/300px-Maize_God_and_Itzamn%C3%A1.JPG 2x" data-file-width="307" data-file-height="254" /></a></span><div class="sidebar-caption" style="font-style:italic">Maize god and <a href="/wiki/Itzamna" title="Itzamna">Itzamna</a></div></td></tr><tr><th class="sidebar-heading" style="color: #FFFFF; background: #50C578"> Practices</th></tr><tr><td class="sidebar-content hlist"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Bloodletting_in_Mesoamerica" title="Bloodletting in Mesoamerica">Bloodletting</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Maya_death_rituals" title="Maya death rituals">Death rituals</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Maya_dedication_rituals" title="Maya dedication rituals">Dedication rituals</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Maya_pilgrimage" title="Maya pilgrimage">Pilgrimage</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Maya_priesthood" title="Maya priesthood">Priesthood</a></li> <li><a class="mw-selflink selflink">Sacrifice</a> (<a href="/wiki/Human_sacrifice_in_Maya_culture" title="Human sacrifice in Maya culture">Humans</a>)</li></ul></td> </tr><tr><th class="sidebar-heading" style="color: #FFFFF; background: #50C578"> Places</th></tr><tr><td class="sidebar-content hlist"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Maya_cave_sites" title="Maya cave sites">Cave sites</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Middleworld" title="Middleworld">Middleworld</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Xibalba" title="Xibalba">Xibalba</a></li></ul></td> </tr><tr><th class="sidebar-heading" style="color: #FFFFF; background: #50C578"> <a href="/wiki/List_of_Maya_gods_and_supernatural_beings" title="List of Maya gods and supernatural beings">Deities and beings</a></th></tr><tr><td class="sidebar-content hlist"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Maya_death_gods" title="Maya death gods">Death gods</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Maya_jaguar_gods" title="Maya jaguar gods">Jaguar gods</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Mam_(Maya_mythology)" title="Mam (Maya mythology)">Mams</a></li></ul> <hr /> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Acat_(deity)" title="Acat (deity)">Acat</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Ah_Peku" title="Ah Peku">Ah Peku</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Ah-Muzen-Cab" title="Ah-Muzen-Cab">Ah-Muzen-Cab</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Awilix" title="Awilix">Awilix</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Bacab" title="Bacab">Bacab</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Cabaguil" title="Cabaguil">Cabaguil</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Camazotz" title="Camazotz">Camazotz</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Chaac" title="Chaac">Chaac</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Chin_(deity)" title="Chin (deity)">Chin</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Cizin" title="Cizin">Cizin</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Chirakan-Ixmucane" title="Chirakan-Ixmucane">Chirakan-Ixmucane</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Ek_Chuaj" class="mw-redirect" title="Ek Chuaj">Ek Chuaj</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Goddess_I" title="Goddess I">Goddess I</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/God_L" title="God L">God L</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Maya_Hero_Twins" title="Maya Hero Twins">Hero Twins</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Howler_monkey_gods" title="Howler monkey gods">Howler monkey gods</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Huay_Chivo" title="Huay Chivo">Huay Chivo</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Hun_Hunahpu" title="Hun Hunahpu">Hun Hunahpu</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Huracan" title="Huracan">Huracan</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Itzamna" title="Itzamna">Itzamna</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Ixchel" title="Ixchel">Ixchel</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Ixpiyacoc" title="Ixpiyacoc">Ixpiyacoc</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Ixtab" title="Ixtab">Ixtab</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/K%27awiil" class="mw-redirect" title="K'awiil">K'awiil</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Kinich_Ahau" title="Kinich Ahau">Kinich Ahau</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Kukulkan" title="Kukulkan">Kukulkan</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Maya_maize_god" title="Maya maize god">Maize god</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Maxim%C3%B3n" title="Maximón">Maximón</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Maya_moon_goddess" title="Maya moon goddess">Moon goddess</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Nagual" title="Nagual">Nagual</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Tzacol" title="Tzacol">Tzacol</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Q%27uq%27umatz" class="mw-redirect" title="Q'uq'umatz">Q'uq'umatz</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Vision_Serpent" title="Vision Serpent">Vision Serpent</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Voltan" title="Voltan">Voltan</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Vucub_Caquix" title="Vucub Caquix">Vucub Caquix</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Wayob" title="Wayob">Wayob</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Xbaquiyalo" title="Xbaquiyalo">Xbaquiyalo</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Xmucane_and_Xpiacoc" title="Xmucane and Xpiacoc">Xmucane and Xpiacoc</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Xmulzencab" title="Xmulzencab">Xmulzencab</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Xquic" title="Xquic">Xquic</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Xtabay" title="Xtabay">Xtabay</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Yopaat" title="Yopaat">Yopaat</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Yum_Kaax" title="Yum Kaax">Yum Kaax</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Zipacna" title="Zipacna">Zipacna</a></li></ul></td> </tr><tr><th class="sidebar-heading" style="color: #FFFFF; background: #50C578"> Texts</th></tr><tr><td class="sidebar-content hlist"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Annals_of_the_Cakchiquels" title="Annals of the Cakchiquels">Annals of the Cakchiquels</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Popol_Vuh" title="Popol Vuh">Popol Vuh</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Ritual_of_the_Bacabs" title="Ritual of the Bacabs">Ritual of the Bacabs</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/T%C3%ADtulo_C%27oyoi" class="mw-redirect" title="Título C'oyoi">Título C'oyoi</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/T%C3%ADtulo_de_Totonicap%C3%A1n" title="Título de Totonicapán">Título de Totonicapán</a></li></ul></td> </tr><tr><td class="sidebar-navbar"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1129693374"><style data-mw-deduplicate="TemplateStyles:r1239400231">.mw-parser-output .navbar{display:inline;font-size:88%;font-weight:normal}.mw-parser-output .navbar-collapse{float:left;text-align:left}.mw-parser-output .navbar-boxtext{word-spacing:0}.mw-parser-output .navbar ul{display:inline-block;white-space:nowrap;line-height:inherit}.mw-parser-output .navbar-brackets::before{margin-right:-0.125em;content:"[ "}.mw-parser-output .navbar-brackets::after{margin-left:-0.125em;content:" ]"}.mw-parser-output .navbar li{word-spacing:-0.125em}.mw-parser-output .navbar a>span,.mw-parser-output .navbar a>abbr{text-decoration:inherit}.mw-parser-output .navbar-mini abbr{font-variant:small-caps;border-bottom:none;text-decoration:none;cursor:inherit}.mw-parser-output .navbar-ct-full{font-size:114%;margin:0 7em}.mw-parser-output .navbar-ct-mini{font-size:114%;margin:0 4em}html.skin-theme-clientpref-night .mw-parser-output .navbar li a abbr{color:var(--color-base)!important}@media(prefers-color-scheme:dark){html.skin-theme-clientpref-os .mw-parser-output .navbar li a abbr{color:var(--color-base)!important}}@media print{.mw-parser-output .navbar{display:none!important}}</style><div class="navbar plainlinks hlist navbar-mini"><ul><li class="nv-view"><a href="/wiki/Template:Maya_religion" title="Template:Maya religion"><abbr title="View this template">v</abbr></a></li><li class="nv-talk"><a href="/w/index.php?title=Template_talk:Maya_religion&action=edit&redlink=1" class="new" title="Template talk:Maya religion (page does not exist)"><abbr title="Discuss this template">t</abbr></a></li><li class="nv-edit"><a href="/wiki/Special:EditPage/Template:Maya_religion" title="Special:EditPage/Template:Maya religion"><abbr title="Edit this template">e</abbr></a></li></ul></div></td></tr></tbody></table> <p><b>Sacrifice</b> was a religious activity in <a href="/wiki/Maya_civilization" title="Maya civilization">Maya culture</a>, involving the killing of <a href="/wiki/Human_sacrifice_in_Maya_culture" title="Human sacrifice in Maya culture">humans</a> or <a href="/wiki/Animal_sacrifice" title="Animal sacrifice">animals</a>, or <a href="/wiki/Bloodletting_in_Mesoamerica" title="Bloodletting in Mesoamerica">bloodletting</a> by members of the community, in <a href="/wiki/Ritual" title="Ritual">rituals</a> superintended by <a href="/wiki/Maya_priesthood" title="Maya priesthood">priests</a>. Sacrifice has been a feature of almost all pre-modern societies at some stage of their development and for broadly the same reason: to propitiate or fulfill a perceived obligation towards the <a href="/wiki/List_of_Maya_gods_and_supernatural_beings" title="List of Maya gods and supernatural beings">gods</a>. </p> <meta property="mw:PageProp/toc" /> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="Crisis_and_sacrifice">Crisis and sacrifice</h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Sacrifice_in_Maya_culture&action=edit&section=1" title="Edit section: Crisis and sacrifice"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <p>What is known of Mayan ritual practices comes from two sources: the extant <a href="/wiki/Maya_codices" title="Maya codices">chronicles and codices</a> of the <a href="/wiki/Franciscan_missions_to_the_Maya" title="Franciscan missions to the Maya">missionary-ethnographers</a> who arrived with or shortly after the <a href="/wiki/Spanish_conquest_of_Yucat%C3%A1n" title="Spanish conquest of Yucatán">Spanish conquest of Yucatán</a>, and subsequent archaeological data. The historical record is more sparse than that for the Aztecs,<sup id="cite_ref-Bancroft_1-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-Bancroft-1"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>1<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> and can only be reliable in regards to the Post-Classical period, long after the <a href="/wiki/Classic_Maya_collapse" title="Classic Maya collapse">Classic Maya collapse</a>. The chroniclers have also been accused of colonial bias, but the most comprehensive account of <a href="/wiki/Maya_society" title="Maya society">Maya society</a>,<sup id="cite_ref-Landa_2-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-Landa-2"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>2<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> by <a href="/wiki/Diego_de_Landa" title="Diego de Landa">Diego de Landa</a>, has been described by modern experts as an "ethnographic masterpiece”,<sup id="cite_ref-3" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-3"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>3<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> despite his role in the destruction of <a href="/wiki/Maya_codices" title="Maya codices">Maya codices</a>. </p><p>The archaeological data has continued to expand as more excavations are undertaken, confirming much of what the early chroniclers wrote. A major breakthrough was the deciphering of the <a href="/wiki/Maya_script" title="Maya script">Maya syllabary</a> in the 1950s, which has allowed the glyphs carved into many temples to be understood. Excavation and forensic examination of human remains have also thrown light on the age, sex, and cause of death of sacrificial victims. </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="Sacrifices_in_calendar_and_everyday_rituals">Sacrifices in calendar and everyday rituals</h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Sacrifice_in_Maya_culture&action=edit&section=2" title="Edit section: Sacrifices in calendar and everyday rituals"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1129693374"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1246091330"><style data-mw-deduplicate="TemplateStyles:r1239334494">@media screen{html.skin-theme-clientpref-night .mw-parser-output div:not(.notheme)>.tmp-color,html.skin-theme-clientpref-night .mw-parser-output p>.tmp-color,html.skin-theme-clientpref-night .mw-parser-output table:not(.notheme) .tmp-color{color:inherit!important}}@media screen and (prefers-color-scheme:dark){html.skin-theme-clientpref-os .mw-parser-output div:not(.notheme)>.tmp-color,html.skin-theme-clientpref-os .mw-parser-output p>.tmp-color,html.skin-theme-clientpref-os .mw-parser-output table:not(.notheme) .tmp-color{color:inherit!important}}</style><table class="sidebar nomobile nowraplinks hlist"><tbody><tr><td class="sidebar-pretitle">This article is part of <a href="/wiki/Category:Maya_civilization" title="Category:Maya civilization">a series</a> on the</td></tr><tr><th class="sidebar-title-with-pretitle" style="background: #50C578;"><a href="/wiki/Maya_civilization" title="Maya civilization"><span class="tmp-color" style="color:#FFFFFF">Maya civilization</span></a></th></tr><tr><td class="sidebar-image"><span typeof="mw:File"><a href="/wiki/File:MA_D293_Maya_stone_carving_from_Copan.jpg" class="mw-file-description"><img alt="Drawing of a Mayan stone carving with elaborate decoration." src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/f/f3/MA_D293_Maya_stone_carving_from_Copan.jpg/260px-MA_D293_Maya_stone_carving_from_Copan.jpg" decoding="async" width="260" height="76" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/f/f3/MA_D293_Maya_stone_carving_from_Copan.jpg/390px-MA_D293_Maya_stone_carving_from_Copan.jpg 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/f/f3/MA_D293_Maya_stone_carving_from_Copan.jpg/520px-MA_D293_Maya_stone_carving_from_Copan.jpg 2x" data-file-width="1774" data-file-height="521" /></a></span></td></tr><tr><td class="sidebar-content"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Maya_peoples" title="Maya peoples">People</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Maya_society" title="Maya society">Society</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Mayan_languages" title="Mayan languages">Languages</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Maya_script" title="Maya script">Writing</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Maya_religion" title="Maya religion">Religion</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Maya_mythology" title="Maya mythology">Mythology</a></li> <li><a class="mw-selflink selflink">Sacrifice</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Mayan_cities" title="Mayan cities">Cities</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Maya_architecture" title="Maya architecture">Architecture</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Maya_astronomy" title="Maya astronomy">Astronomy</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Maya_calendar" title="Maya calendar">Calendar</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Maya_stelae" title="Maya stelae">Stelae</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Ancient_Maya_art" title="Ancient Maya art">Art</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Maya_textiles" title="Maya textiles">Textiles</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Trade_in_Maya_civilization" title="Trade in Maya civilization">Trade</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Maya_music" title="Maya music">Music</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Maya_dance" title="Maya dance">Dance</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Maya_medicine" title="Maya medicine">Medicine</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Ancient_Maya_cuisine" title="Ancient Maya cuisine">Cuisine</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Maya_warfare" title="Maya warfare">Warfare</a></li></ul></td> </tr><tr><th class="sidebar-heading"> <a href="/wiki/History_of_the_Maya_civilization" title="History of the Maya civilization">History</a></th></tr><tr><td class="sidebar-content"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Preclassic_Maya" title="Preclassic Maya">Preclassic Maya</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Classic_Maya_collapse" title="Classic Maya collapse">Classic Maya collapse</a></li></ul></td> </tr><tr><th class="sidebar-heading"> <a href="/wiki/Spanish_conquest_of_the_Maya" title="Spanish conquest of the Maya">Spanish conquest of the Maya</a></th></tr><tr><td class="sidebar-content"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Spanish_conquest_of_Yucat%C3%A1n" title="Spanish conquest of Yucatán">Yucatán</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Spanish_conquest_of_Chiapas" title="Spanish conquest of Chiapas">Chiapas</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Spanish_conquest_of_Guatemala" title="Spanish conquest of Guatemala">Guatemala</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Spanish_conquest_of_Pet%C3%A9n" title="Spanish conquest of Petén">Petén</a></li></ul> <hr /></td> </tr><tr><td class="sidebar-below"> <ul><li><span class="nowrap"><span class="noviewer" typeof="mw:File"><span><img alt="" src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/7/7a/M%C3%A1scara_de_Xiuhtecuhtli_Cultura_Azteza-Mixteca_Ars_Summum.JPG/12px-M%C3%A1scara_de_Xiuhtecuhtli_Cultura_Azteza-Mixteca_Ars_Summum.JPG" decoding="async" width="12" height="16" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/7/7a/M%C3%A1scara_de_Xiuhtecuhtli_Cultura_Azteza-Mixteca_Ars_Summum.JPG/18px-M%C3%A1scara_de_Xiuhtecuhtli_Cultura_Azteza-Mixteca_Ars_Summum.JPG 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/7/7a/M%C3%A1scara_de_Xiuhtecuhtli_Cultura_Azteza-Mixteca_Ars_Summum.JPG/24px-M%C3%A1scara_de_Xiuhtecuhtli_Cultura_Azteza-Mixteca_Ars_Summum.JPG 2x" data-file-width="972" data-file-height="1296" /></span></span> </span><a href="/wiki/Portal:Mesoamerica" title="Portal:Mesoamerica">Mesoamerica portal</a></li></ul></td></tr><tr><td class="sidebar-navbar"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1129693374"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1239400231"><div class="navbar plainlinks hlist navbar-mini"><ul><li class="nv-view"><a href="/wiki/Template:Maya_civilization" title="Template:Maya civilization"><abbr title="View this template">v</abbr></a></li><li class="nv-talk"><a href="/wiki/Template_talk:Maya_civilization" title="Template talk:Maya civilization"><abbr title="Discuss this template">t</abbr></a></li><li class="nv-edit"><a href="/wiki/Special:EditPage/Template:Maya_civilization" title="Special:EditPage/Template:Maya civilization"><abbr title="Edit this template">e</abbr></a></li></ul></div></td></tr></tbody></table> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading3"><h3 id="Human_sacrifice">Human sacrifice</h3><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Sacrifice_in_Maya_culture&action=edit&section=3" title="Edit section: Human sacrifice"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <figure class="mw-halign-left" typeof="mw:File/Thumb"><a href="/wiki/File:British_museum173.jpg" class="mw-file-description"><img src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/0/0e/British_museum173.jpg/200px-British_museum173.jpg" decoding="async" width="200" height="267" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/0/0e/British_museum173.jpg/300px-British_museum173.jpg 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/0/0e/British_museum173.jpg/400px-British_museum173.jpg 2x" data-file-width="480" data-file-height="640" /></a><figcaption><a href="/wiki/Yaxchilan_Lintel_24" title="Yaxchilan Lintel 24">Lintel 24</a> at <a href="/wiki/Yaxchilan" title="Yaxchilan">Yaxchilan</a>, depicting <a href="/wiki/Lady_Xoc" title="Lady Xoc">Lady Xoc</a> drawing a barbed rope through her tongue.</figcaption></figure> <p>The Mayans engaged in a large number of festivals and rituals on fixed days of the year, many of which involved animal sacrifices and all of which seem to have involved bloodletting. The ubiquity of this practice is a unique aspect of pre-Columbian Mesoamerican culture, and is now believed to have originated with the <a href="/wiki/Olmec" class="mw-redirect" title="Olmec">Olmecs</a>,<sup id="cite_ref-Joyce_4-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-Joyce-4"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>4<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> the region's first civilization. </p><p>Ritualised sacrifice was usually performed in public by religious or political leaders piercing a soft body part, most commonly the tongue, ear or <a href="/wiki/Foreskin" title="Foreskin">foreskin</a>, and collecting the blood to smear directly on the <a href="/wiki/Cult_image" title="Cult image">idol</a> or collecting it on paper, which was then burned.<sup id="cite_ref-Joyce_4-1" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-Joyce-4"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>4<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> In what is today <a href="/wiki/Nicaragua" title="Nicaragua">Nicaragua</a>, the blood was smeared on <a href="/wiki/Corn" class="mw-redirect" title="Corn">corn</a>, distributed to the people and baked into sacred bread.<sup id="cite_ref-5" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-5"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>5<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> The blood could also be collected from the non-elite, often from the foreskins of <a href="/wiki/Youth" title="Youth">youths</a>, or from high-ranking <a href="/wiki/Lady" title="Lady">women</a>. </p><p>The site of the collection was of obvious ritual significance. Joralemon notes it is "virtually certain" that blood from the penis and the vagina was the most sacred and had "extraordinary <a href="/wiki/Fertility" title="Fertility">fertilizing power</a>" and that such rituals were essential for the regeneration of the natural world, particularly cultivated plants.<sup id="cite_ref-Jor_6-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-Jor-6"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>6<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> In one dramatic variant men and women "gathered in the temple in a line, and each made a pierced hole through the member, across from side to side, and then passed through as great a quantity of cord as they could stand; and thus all together fastened and strung together, they anointed the statue the Spanish considered to be sun worship of "<a href="/wiki/Ba%CA%BFal" class="mw-redirect" title="Baʿal">Baʿal</a>" from the Bible.<sup id="cite_ref-7" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-7"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>7<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> But auto-sacrifice could also be an everyday event, with those passing by an <a href="/wiki/Cult_image" title="Cult image">idol</a> anointing it with blood drawn on the spot as a sign of piety.<sup id="cite_ref-Jor_6-1" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-Jor-6"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>6<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p><p>Blood sacrifice to the <a href="/wiki/List_of_Maya_gods_and_supernatural_beings" title="List of Maya gods and supernatural beings">Maya gods</a> was vigorously opposed by the <a href="/wiki/Roman_Catholicism_in_Spain" class="mw-redirect" title="Roman Catholicism in Spain">Spanish clergy</a> as the most visible sign of native <a href="/wiki/Apostasy" title="Apostasy">apostasy</a>, as De Landa, who was later to become the second bishop of the <a href="/wiki/Yucat%C3%A1n_Peninsula" title="Yucatán Peninsula">Yucatán</a>, makes clear: </p> <blockquote><p>"After the people had been thus instructed in religion, and the youths benefitted as we have said, they were perverted by their priests and chiefs to return to their <a href="/wiki/Idolatry" title="Idolatry">idolatry</a>; this they did, making sacrifices not only by <a href="/wiki/Incense" title="Incense">incense</a> but also of human blood. Upon this the friars held an <a href="/wiki/Inquisition" title="Inquisition">Inquisition</a>, calling upon the Alcalde Mayor for aid; they held trials and celebrated an <a href="/wiki/Auto-da-f%C3%A9" title="Auto-da-fé">Auto</a>,<sup id="cite_ref-8" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-8"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>8<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> putting many on scaffolds, capped, shorn, and beaten, and some in the penitential robes for a time. Some of the Indians out of grief, and deluded by the <a href="/wiki/Devil" title="Devil">devil</a>, hung themselves; but generally, they all showed much repentance and readiness to be good Christians."<sup id="cite_ref-9" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-9"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>9<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup></p></blockquote> <p>De Landa provides the most comprehensive account of <a href="/wiki/Maya_calendar" title="Maya calendar">calendar festivals</a> and rituals (chapters 34-40), but in none of these <i>regular</i> events is human sacrifice mentioned, which must mean his Maya informants were unaware of any instances since the cleric would hardly have suppressed such information. </p> <figure typeof="mw:File/Thumb"><a href="/wiki/File:Mexico_Cenotes.jpg" class="mw-file-description"><img src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/9/97/Mexico_Cenotes.jpg/250px-Mexico_Cenotes.jpg" decoding="async" width="250" height="103" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/9/97/Mexico_Cenotes.jpg/375px-Mexico_Cenotes.jpg 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/9/97/Mexico_Cenotes.jpg/500px-Mexico_Cenotes.jpg 2x" data-file-width="1278" data-file-height="529" /></a><figcaption><a href="/wiki/Sacred_Cenote" title="Sacred Cenote">Sacred Cenote</a>: the site of an unknown number of human sacrifices</figcaption></figure> <p>The traditional view is that the Mayans were far less prolific in sacrificing people than their <a href="/wiki/Human_sacrifice_in_Aztec_culture" title="Human sacrifice in Aztec culture">neighbours</a>. Bancroft notes: "An event which in Mexico would be the death-signal to a <a href="/wiki/Hecatomb" title="Hecatomb">hecatomb</a> of human victims would in Yucatán be celebrated by the death of a spotted dog."(p. 704) But mounting archeological evidence has for many decades now supported the chroniclers' contention that human sacrifice was far from unknown in Maya society.<sup id="cite_ref-10" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-10"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>10<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-11" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-11"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>11<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> The city of <a href="/wiki/Chichen_Itza" title="Chichen Itza">Chichen Itza</a>, the main focus of Maya regional power from the Late Classical period, appears to have also been a major focus of <a href="/wiki/Human_sacrifice" title="Human sacrifice">human sacrifice</a>. There are two natural <a href="/wiki/Sinkhole" title="Sinkhole">sinkholes</a>, or <i><a href="/wiki/Cenote" title="Cenote">cenotes</a></i>, at the site of the city, which would have provided a plentiful supply of potable water. The largest of these, <a href="/wiki/Sacred_Cenote" title="Sacred Cenote">Cenote Sagrado</a> (also known as the Well of Sacrifice), was where many victims were cast as an offering to the rain god <a href="/wiki/Chaac" title="Chaac">Chaac</a>. A 2007 study of remains taken from this <i>cenote</i> found that they had wounds consistent with human sacrifice.<sup id="cite_ref-12" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-12"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>12<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p><p> Bancroft describes one procedure:</p><blockquote><p>A long cord was then fastened round the body of each victim, and the moment the smoke ceased to rise from the altar, all were hurled into the gulf. The crowd, which had gathered from every part of the country to see the sacrifice, immediately drew back from the brink of the pit and continued to pray without cessation for some time. The bodies were then drawn up and buried in the neighboring grove. (p.705)</p></blockquote> <p>There is no consensus on why these sacrifices took place, their true scale at different times, or even who the victims were. </p><p>Because Maya society was organised as independent city-states, the local political and religious elites could independently initiate human sacrifices as they saw fit. De Landa notes that a common cause for temple sacrifices in many cities was the occurrence of "<a href="/wiki/Infectious_disease" class="mw-redirect" title="Infectious disease">pestilences</a>, dissensions, or droughts or the like ills". (p. 91) In such cases, slaves were usually purchased and after a variety of rituals were anointed with blue dye and either shot with arrows through the heart or held on an altar while the priest swiftly removed the heart using a ceremonial knife. In either case the heart was presented to the <a href="/wiki/Temple" title="Temple">temple</a> idol, which was also anointed with blood.<sup id="cite_ref-13" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-13"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>13<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> According to Bancroft, one tribe sacrificed illegitimate boys twice a year, again by removing the heart, but collecting the blood in a bowl and scattering it to the four cardinal compass points within the temple. </p><p>Capturing prisoners after a successful battle also provided victims for sacrifice, presumably to propitiate whatever <a href="/wiki/Deity" title="Deity">deity</a> had promised victory in the first place, although there is no record of the Maya initiating conflicts solely for this purpose as was apparently the case with the Aztecs. Modern analysis of the <a href="/wiki/Ancient_Maya_art" title="Ancient Maya art">ancient Maya art</a> indicates a large number of representations of prisoners of war that are now understood to be sacrificial victims: "The analysis of the representations and sometimes of their context shows that the crossed-arms-on-the-chest gesture is associated with the concepts of submissiveness, <a href="/wiki/Hostage" title="Hostage">captivity</a> and death — in a word, sacrifice."<sup id="cite_ref-14" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-14"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>14<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading4"><h4 id="Child_sacrifice">Child sacrifice</h4><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Sacrifice_in_Maya_culture&action=edit&section=4" title="Edit section: Child sacrifice"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <figure class="mw-default-size" typeof="mw:File/Thumb"><a href="/wiki/File:Maya_vessel_with_sacrificial_scene_DMA_2005-26.jpg" class="mw-file-description"><img src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/2/24/Maya_vessel_with_sacrificial_scene_DMA_2005-26.jpg/220px-Maya_vessel_with_sacrificial_scene_DMA_2005-26.jpg" decoding="async" width="220" height="299" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/2/24/Maya_vessel_with_sacrificial_scene_DMA_2005-26.jpg/330px-Maya_vessel_with_sacrificial_scene_DMA_2005-26.jpg 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/2/24/Maya_vessel_with_sacrificial_scene_DMA_2005-26.jpg/440px-Maya_vessel_with_sacrificial_scene_DMA_2005-26.jpg 2x" data-file-width="521" data-file-height="709" /></a><figcaption>Human sacrificial victim on an altar flanked by two dancing grandees, Classic Maya vessel, 600–850 AD <i>(Dallas Museum of Art)</i></figcaption></figure> <p><a href="/wiki/Mayanist" title="Mayanist">Mayanists</a> believe that, like the Aztecs, the Maya performed child sacrifice in specific circumstances, most commonly as foundation dedications for temples and other structures. Maya art from the <a href="/wiki/Maya_civilization#Classic" title="Maya civilization">Classic period</a> also depicts the extraction of children's hearts during the ascension to the throne of the new king, or at the beginnings of the <a href="/wiki/Maya_calendar" title="Maya calendar">Maya calendar</a>.<sup id="cite_ref-15" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-15"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>15<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> In one of these cases, Stele 11 in <a href="/wiki/Piedras_Negras_(Maya_site)" title="Piedras Negras (Maya site)">Piedras Negras</a>, <a href="/wiki/Guatemala" title="Guatemala">Guatemala</a>, a sacrificed boy can be seen. Other scenes of sacrificed boys are visible on jars. </p><p> As archeologists continue to excavate, more instances of child dedicatory sacrifices are being uncovered. A dig commenced in 1974 at the northern <a href="/wiki/Belize" title="Belize">Belize</a> site of <a href="/wiki/Lamanai" title="Lamanai">Lamanai</a> turned up the remains of five children, ranging in age from a newborn to about 8 years old:</p><blockquote><p>"The conclusion that the five children were sacrificial victims is virtually inescapable... Nowhere else at Lamanai is there evidence of human sacrifice, either of children or adults... However, it is clear that the offering of children as part of the dedicatory activities that preceded the setting up of stelae was not uncommon at any time or place in the Maya lowlands."<sup id="cite_ref-Pender_16-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-Pender-16"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>16<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p></blockquote> <p>In 2005 a mass grave of one- to two-year-old sacrificed children was found in the <a href="/wiki/Maya_civilization" title="Maya civilization">Maya</a> region of <a href="/wiki/Comalcalco" title="Comalcalco">Comalcalco</a>. The sacrifices were apparently performed for dedicatory purposes when building temples at the Comalcalco acropolis.<sup id="cite_ref-17" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-17"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>17<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p><p>An excavation at <a href="/wiki/El_Per%C3%BA_(Maya_site)" title="El Perú (Maya site)">El Perú-Wakaʼ</a> turned up the remains of an infant with, unusually, those of an adult male, in the presence of extensive evidence of feasting that had followed the expansion of a residence which had then been "ensouled" by the rituals and sacrifices. The analysis suggests that the "interments show that human sacrifice was not limited to the royal actors associated with the Classic Maya state, but could be practiced by lesser elites as part of their own private ceremonies."<sup id="cite_ref-18" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-18"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>18<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading3"><h3 id="Animal_sacrifice">Animal sacrifice</h3><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Sacrifice_in_Maya_culture&action=edit&section=5" title="Edit section: Animal sacrifice"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <p>White-tailed deer were perhaps the most popular sacrificial animal, heavily featured in Maya art. After deer, the next most common sacrificial animals were dogs and various birds (whose heads were offered to the idols), followed by a wide range of other creatures, from <a href="/wiki/Jaguar" title="Jaguar">jaguars</a> to alligators. </p><p>Animal sacrifice also seems to have been a common ritual before the commencement of any important task or undertaking.<sup id="cite_ref-19" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-19"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>19<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading4"><h4 id="Examples">Examples</h4><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Sacrifice_in_Maya_culture&action=edit&section=6" title="Edit section: Examples"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <p>The Maya often raised animals for the purposes of sacrificing and eating them at ritual feasts. Spanish colonizers reported that the Maya would kill and consume massive quantities of turkey in an annual ritual sacrifice and feast.<sup id="cite_ref-:1_20-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-:1-20"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>20<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p><p>The <a href="/wiki/Dresden_Codex" title="Dresden Codex">Dresden Codex</a>, an 11th-12th century illustrated Maya book,<sup id="cite_ref-21" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-21"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>21<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> depicts birds being used in ritual sacrifice, deer tied up near sacrificial sites, and pieces of deer meat placed into ritualistic containers.<sup id="cite_ref-:0_22-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-:0-22"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>22<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> Both the <a href="/wiki/Madrid_Codex_(Maya)" title="Madrid Codex (Maya)">Madrid Codex</a> and the <a href="/wiki/Codex_Borgia" title="Codex Borgia">Borgia Codex</a> depict a deer ritual in which deer are tied to trees and killed with spears.<sup id="cite_ref-23" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-23"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>23<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p><p>At <a href="/w/index.php?title=Laguna_de_On_Island&action=edit&redlink=1" class="new" title="Laguna de On Island (page does not exist)">Laguna de On Island</a>, remains of tapir, peccary, deer, crocodile, iguana, and agouti were all found concentrated around a spot believed to have been used for ritual butchering.<sup id="cite_ref-:0_22-1" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-:0-22"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>22<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> These animals were found in much smaller proportions or are completely absent in the surrounding areas, indicating elite control over animals used for butchering.<sup id="cite_ref-:0_22-2" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-:0-22"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>22<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> Another structure on the island was found to contain evidence of both ritual practice and deer jaw bones.<sup id="cite_ref-24" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-24"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>24<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p><p>In a Maya burial chamber in Xunatunich, an upper-class adult male was found buried with both deer and jaguar bones scattered over his body.<sup id="cite_ref-25" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-25"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>25<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> At Xunatunich and Baking Pot, deer bones and turtle shells were found without the cut marks associated with consumption, pointing towards their use in ritual sacrifice.<sup id="cite_ref-26" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-26"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>26<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> Postclassical records describe both deer and turtles being sacrificed at these sites.<sup id="cite_ref-27" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-27"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>27<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p><p>A gravesite discovered at Yaxuná featured the scattered bones of jaguars, rabbits, deer, opossum, birds, lizards, and snakes on and around the body.<sup id="cite_ref-28" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-28"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>28<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading4"><h4 id="Archaeological_controversy_&_misconceptions"><span id="Archaeological_controversy_.26_misconceptions"></span>Archaeological controversy & misconceptions</h4><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Sacrifice_in_Maya_culture&action=edit&section=7" title="Edit section: Archaeological controversy & misconceptions"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <p>In many cases, animals used for sacrifices were also consumed, making the line between animals used for ritual & sacrificial practices and animals relied on for food unclear or absent. Montero-Lopez argues that on the basis of analysis of the distribution of deer parts in Classical Maya sites that the archeological record does not support a clear distinction between the secular and sacred uses of animals.<sup id="cite_ref-29" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-29"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>29<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> This issue comes further to light when studying the lower classes. Because rituals in Maya society were conducted exclusively by elites,<sup id="cite_ref-:0_22-3" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-:0-22"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>22<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> poorer people would get almost all of the meat in their diets from these ritual feasts.<sup id="cite_ref-:1_20-1" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-:1-20"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>20<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> Despite this convergence, it remains common in the literature to consider food use of animals and ritual use of animals separately. </p><p><a href="/wiki/Mesoamerica" title="Mesoamerica">Mesoamerica</a> lacked conventional domesticated food animals such as sheep, cows, and pigs,<sup id="cite_ref-Diamond1997GGS_30-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-Diamond1997GGS-30"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>30<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> and some researchers have taken this to mean animal <a href="/wiki/Protein" title="Protein">protein</a> and byproducts could only be obtained by hunting. In reality, evidence points to the Maya having domesticated deer and dogs on a large scale. There is a well-documented practice of Maya households fattening up dogs on maize, either to eat themselves or to ritually offer to elites.<sup id="cite_ref-31" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-31"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>31<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p><p>In Seibal, possible remains of animal pens were found with pieces of antler, indicating that deer were kept close at hand for consumption and ritual use.<sup id="cite_ref-:1_20-2" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-:1-20"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>20<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> In Cozumel, stone enclosures from the Postclassic period were found to contain droppings from animals and domesticated turkey bones. These turkeys must have been imported from Northern Mexico, as they were not native to Cozumel.<sup id="cite_ref-:1_20-3" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-:1-20"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>20<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="Origins,_meaning,_and_social_function"><span id="Origins.2C_meaning.2C_and_social_function"></span>Origins, meaning, and social function</h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Sacrifice_in_Maya_culture&action=edit&section=8" title="Edit section: Origins, meaning, and social function"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <p>Both blood and human sacrifice were ubiquitous in all cultures of pre-Columbian Mesoamerica, but beyond some uncontroversial generalisations there is no scholarly consensus on the broader questions (and specific mysteries) this raises. Most scholars agree that both practices arose among the Olmecs at least 3,000 plus years ago, and have been transmitted to subsequent cultures, including the Maya. Why they arose among the Olmecs is unknown, and probably unknowable, given the paucity of data. </p><p>Blood, and by extension the still-beating heart, is the central element in both the ethnography and iconography of sacrifice, and its use through ritual established or renewed for the Maya a connection with the sacred that was for them essential to the very existence of the natural order. Julian Lee's observation that the Maya "drew no sharp distinction between the <a href="/wiki/Animism" title="Animism">animate and the inanimate</a>"<sup id="cite_ref-32" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-32"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>32<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> and the remarks by Pendergast<sup id="cite_ref-Pender_16-1" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-Pender-16"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>16<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> and others that sacrifices "ensouled" buildings and idols indicate a social meaning, as Reilly suggests, most akin to <a href="/wiki/Transubstantiation" title="Transubstantiation">transubstantiation</a><sup id="cite_ref-33" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-33"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>33<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> – a literal rather than symbolic transformation on which the <a href="/wiki/Destiny" title="Destiny">fate</a> of the world and its inhabitants depended. </p><p>As with all known theocratic societies, it is likely the Maya political and religious elites played mutually reinforcing roles in supporting the position of the other and ensuring the social stability essential for both, with sacrifice rituals functioning as the performative centrepiece of communal integration. But on likely divergences of interests between different social groups in regard to sacrifice rituals, including within these elites, the historical record has so far been silent. </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="See_also">See also</h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Sacrifice_in_Maya_culture&action=edit&section=9" title="Edit section: See also"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Maya_religion" title="Maya religion">Maya religion</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Human_trophy_taking_in_Mesoamerica" title="Human trophy taking in Mesoamerica">Human trophy taking in Mesoamerica</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Kukulkan" title="Kukulkan">Kukulkan</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Maya_peoples" title="Maya peoples">Maya peoples</a></li></ul> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="Notes">Notes</h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Sacrifice_in_Maya_culture&action=edit&section=10" title="Edit section: Notes"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <style data-mw-deduplicate="TemplateStyles:r1239543626">.mw-parser-output .reflist{margin-bottom:0.5em;list-style-type:decimal}@media screen{.mw-parser-output .reflist{font-size:90%}}.mw-parser-output .reflist .references{font-size:100%;margin-bottom:0;list-style-type:inherit}.mw-parser-output .reflist-columns-2{column-width:30em}.mw-parser-output .reflist-columns-3{column-width:25em}.mw-parser-output .reflist-columns{margin-top:0.3em}.mw-parser-output .reflist-columns ol{margin-top:0}.mw-parser-output .reflist-columns li{page-break-inside:avoid;break-inside:avoid-column}.mw-parser-output .reflist-upper-alpha{list-style-type:upper-alpha}.mw-parser-output .reflist-upper-roman{list-style-type:upper-roman}.mw-parser-output .reflist-lower-alpha{list-style-type:lower-alpha}.mw-parser-output .reflist-lower-greek{list-style-type:lower-greek}.mw-parser-output .reflist-lower-roman{list-style-type:lower-roman}</style><div class="reflist reflist-columns references-column-width reflist-columns-3"> <ol class="references"> <li id="cite_note-Bancroft-1"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-Bancroft_1-0">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text">Bancroft 1882, p. 687.</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-Landa-2"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-Landa_2-0">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><style data-mw-deduplicate="TemplateStyles:r1238218222">.mw-parser-output cite.citation{font-style:inherit;word-wrap:break-word}.mw-parser-output .citation q{quotes:"\"""\"""'""'"}.mw-parser-output .citation:target{background-color:rgba(0,127,255,0.133)}.mw-parser-output .id-lock-free.id-lock-free a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/65/Lock-green.svg")right 0.1em center/9px no-repeat}.mw-parser-output .id-lock-limited.id-lock-limited a,.mw-parser-output .id-lock-registration.id-lock-registration a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d6/Lock-gray-alt-2.svg")right 0.1em center/9px no-repeat}.mw-parser-output .id-lock-subscription.id-lock-subscription a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/aa/Lock-red-alt-2.svg")right 0.1em center/9px no-repeat}.mw-parser-output .cs1-ws-icon a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/4c/Wikisource-logo.svg")right 0.1em center/12px no-repeat}body:not(.skin-timeless):not(.skin-minerva) .mw-parser-output .id-lock-free a,body:not(.skin-timeless):not(.skin-minerva) .mw-parser-output .id-lock-limited a,body:not(.skin-timeless):not(.skin-minerva) .mw-parser-output .id-lock-registration a,body:not(.skin-timeless):not(.skin-minerva) .mw-parser-output .id-lock-subscription a,body:not(.skin-timeless):not(.skin-minerva) .mw-parser-output .cs1-ws-icon a{background-size:contain;padding:0 1em 0 0}.mw-parser-output .cs1-code{color:inherit;background:inherit;border:none;padding:inherit}.mw-parser-output .cs1-hidden-error{display:none;color:var(--color-error,#d33)}.mw-parser-output .cs1-visible-error{color:var(--color-error,#d33)}.mw-parser-output .cs1-maint{display:none;color:#085;margin-left:0.3em}.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-left{padding-left:0.2em}.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-right{padding-right:0.2em}.mw-parser-output .citation .mw-selflink{font-weight:inherit}@media screen{.mw-parser-output .cs1-format{font-size:95%}html.skin-theme-clientpref-night .mw-parser-output .cs1-maint{color:#18911f}}@media screen and (prefers-color-scheme:dark){html.skin-theme-clientpref-os .mw-parser-output .cs1-maint{color:#18911f}}</style><cite class="citation web cs1"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.sacred-texts.com/nam/maya/ybac/">"Yucatan Before and After the Conquest"</a>.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Abook&rft.genre=unknown&rft.btitle=Yucatan+Before+and+After+the+Conquest&rft_id=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.sacred-texts.com%2Fnam%2Fmaya%2Fybac%2F&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3ASacrifice+in+Maya+culture" class="Z3988"></span></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-3"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-3">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text">Wells 1996, p.201.</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-Joyce-4"><span class="mw-cite-backlink">^ <a href="#cite_ref-Joyce_4-0"><sup><i><b>a</b></i></sup></a> <a href="#cite_ref-Joyce_4-1"><sup><i><b>b</b></i></sup></a></span> <span class="reference-text">Joyce et al 1991.</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-5"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-5">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text">Bancroft, p. 710</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-Jor-6"><span class="mw-cite-backlink">^ <a href="#cite_ref-Jor_6-0"><sup><i><b>a</b></i></sup></a> <a href="#cite_ref-Jor_6-1"><sup><i><b>b</b></i></sup></a></span> <span class="reference-text">Joralemon 1974.</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-7"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-7">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text">De Landa, pp. 47–48</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-8"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-8">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text">The reference in this poorly translated passage is to an <i><a href="/wiki/Auto-da-f%C3%A9" title="Auto-da-fé">auto-da-fé</a></i>. See <a href="/wiki/Diego_de_Landa#Suppression_of_the_Maya" title="Diego de Landa">Suppression of the Maya</a> for details.</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-9"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-9">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text">P. 30, with translator's footnote: "Landa evades saying here that it was under his own leadership and assumed authority that this assumption of full inquisitional rights, with a calling on the plenary civil power, went on.")</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-10"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-10">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text">Marcus 1978.</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-11"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-11">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text">Tiesler & Cucina 2006.</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-12"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-12">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text">de Anda Alanís 2007.</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-13"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-13">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text">Pp. 48–49</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-14"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-14">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text">Baudez & Matthews 1978 or 1979.</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-15"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-15">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text">Stuart 2003.</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-Pender-16"><span class="mw-cite-backlink">^ <a href="#cite_ref-Pender_16-0"><sup><i><b>a</b></i></sup></a> <a href="#cite_ref-Pender_16-1"><sup><i><b>b</b></i></sup></a></span> <span class="reference-text">Pendergast 1988.</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-17"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-17">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text">Marí 2005.</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-18"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-18">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text">Eppich 2009</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-19"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-19">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text">Bancroft, p. 687</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-:1-20"><span class="mw-cite-backlink">^ <a href="#cite_ref-:1_20-0"><sup><i><b>a</b></i></sup></a> <a href="#cite_ref-:1_20-1"><sup><i><b>b</b></i></sup></a> <a href="#cite_ref-:1_20-2"><sup><i><b>c</b></i></sup></a> <a href="#cite_ref-:1_20-3"><sup><i><b>d</b></i></sup></a></span> <span class="reference-text"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite id="CITEREFPohlFeldman1982" class="citation cs2">Pohl, Mary; Feldman, Lawrence H. 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University of New Mexico Press. <a href="/wiki/ISBN_(identifier)" class="mw-redirect" title="ISBN (identifier)">ISBN</a> <a href="/wiki/Special:BookSources/0-8263-0693-4" title="Special:BookSources/0-8263-0693-4"><bdi>0-8263-0693-4</bdi></a>. <a href="/wiki/OCLC_(identifier)" class="mw-redirect" title="OCLC (identifier)">OCLC</a> <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://search.worldcat.org/oclc/9197262">9197262</a>.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Abook&rft.genre=book&rft.btitle=Civilization+in+the+ancient+Americas+%3A+essays+in+honor+of+Gordon+R.+Willey&rft.pub=University+of+New+Mexico+Press&rft.date=1983&rft_id=info%3Aoclcnum%2F9197262&rft.isbn=0-8263-0693-4&rft.aulast=L.&rft.aufirst=Willey%2C+Gordon+R.+%28Gordon+Randolph%29%2C+1913-2002.+Leventhal%2C+Richard+M.+Kolata%2C+Alan&rft_id=http%3A%2F%2Fworldcat.org%2Foclc%2F9197262&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3ASacrifice+in+Maya+culture" class="Z3988"></span><span class="cs1-maint citation-comment"><code class="cs1-code">{{<a href="/wiki/Template:Cite_book" title="Template:Cite book">cite book</a>}}</code>: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (<a href="/wiki/Category:CS1_maint:_multiple_names:_authors_list" title="Category:CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list">link</a>) CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (<a href="/wiki/Category:CS1_maint:_numeric_names:_authors_list" title="Category:CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list">link</a>)</span></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-28"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-28">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite id="CITEREFGötzStanton" class="citation cs2">Götz, Christopher M.; Stanton, Travis W., <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://dx.doi.org/10.2307/j.ctvvnd8m.5">"The Use of Animals by the Pre-Hispanic Maya of the Northern Lowlands"</a>, <i>The Archaeology of Mesoamerican Animals</i>, Lockwood Press, p. 213, <a href="/wiki/Doi_(identifier)" class="mw-redirect" title="Doi (identifier)">doi</a>:<a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://doi.org/10.2307%2Fj.ctvvnd8m.5">10.2307/j.ctvvnd8m.5</a><span class="reference-accessdate">, retrieved <span class="nowrap">2022-03-10</span></span></cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Ajournal&rft.genre=article&rft.jtitle=The+Archaeology+of+Mesoamerican+Animals&rft.atitle=The+Use+of+Animals+by+the+Pre-Hispanic+Maya+of+the+Northern+Lowlands&rft.pages=213&rft_id=info%3Adoi%2F10.2307%2Fj.ctvvnd8m.5&rft.aulast=G%C3%B6tz&rft.aufirst=Christopher+M.&rft.au=Stanton%2C+Travis+W.&rft_id=http%3A%2F%2Fdx.doi.org%2F10.2307%2Fj.ctvvnd8m.5&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3ASacrifice+in+Maya+culture" class="Z3988"></span></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-29"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-29">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text">Montero Lopez 2009.</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-Diamond1997GGS-30"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-Diamond1997GGS_30-0">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text">Diamond 1997.</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-31"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-31">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite id="CITEREFWhitePohlSchwarczLongstaffe2001" class="citation journal cs1">White, Christine D.; Pohl, Mary E.D.; Schwarcz, Henry P.; Longstaffe, Fred J. (January 2001). <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://dx.doi.org/10.1006/jasc.1999.0560">"Isotopic Evidence for Maya Patterns of Deer and Dog Use at Preclassic Colha"</a>. <i>Journal of Archaeological Science</i>. <b>28</b> (1): 92. <a href="/wiki/Doi_(identifier)" class="mw-redirect" title="Doi (identifier)">doi</a>:<a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://doi.org/10.1006%2Fjasc.1999.0560">10.1006/jasc.1999.0560</a>. <a href="/wiki/ISSN_(identifier)" class="mw-redirect" title="ISSN (identifier)">ISSN</a> <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://search.worldcat.org/issn/0305-4403">0305-4403</a>.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Ajournal&rft.genre=article&rft.jtitle=Journal+of+Archaeological+Science&rft.atitle=Isotopic+Evidence+for+Maya+Patterns+of+Deer+and+Dog+Use+at+Preclassic+Colha&rft.volume=28&rft.issue=1&rft.pages=92&rft.date=2001-01&rft_id=info%3Adoi%2F10.1006%2Fjasc.1999.0560&rft.issn=0305-4403&rft.aulast=White&rft.aufirst=Christine+D.&rft.au=Pohl%2C+Mary+E.D.&rft.au=Schwarcz%2C+Henry+P.&rft.au=Longstaffe%2C+Fred+J.&rft_id=http%3A%2F%2Fdx.doi.org%2F10.1006%2Fjasc.1999.0560&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3ASacrifice+in+Maya+culture" class="Z3988"></span></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-32"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-32">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text">Lee 1996, p.413.</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-33"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-33">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text">Reilly 1991, p.158.</span> </li> </ol></div> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="References">References</h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Sacrifice_in_Maya_culture&action=edit&section=11" title="Edit section: References"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <style data-mw-deduplicate="TemplateStyles:r1239549316">.mw-parser-output .refbegin{margin-bottom:0.5em}.mw-parser-output .refbegin-hanging-indents>ul{margin-left:0}.mw-parser-output .refbegin-hanging-indents>ul>li{margin-left:0;padding-left:3.2em;text-indent:-3.2em}.mw-parser-output .refbegin-hanging-indents ul,.mw-parser-output .refbegin-hanging-indents ul li{list-style:none}@media(max-width:720px){.mw-parser-output .refbegin-hanging-indents>ul>li{padding-left:1.6em;text-indent:-1.6em}}.mw-parser-output .refbegin-columns{margin-top:0.3em}.mw-parser-output .refbegin-columns ul{margin-top:0}.mw-parser-output .refbegin-columns li{page-break-inside:avoid;break-inside:avoid-column}@media screen{.mw-parser-output .refbegin{font-size:90%}}</style><div class="refbegin refbegin-hanging-indents" style=""> <ul><li><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite id="CITEREFBancroft,_Hubert_Howe1882" class="citation book cs1 cs1-prop-long-vol">Bancroft, Hubert Howe (1882). <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20110720060820/http://collections.lib.ttu.edu/cdm4/item_viewer.php?CISOROOT=%2Fhfwc&CISOPTR=2&CISOBOX=1&REC=7"><i>The Native Races</i></a>. 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Pebble Beach, California, USA: Robert Louis Stevenson School, Pre-Columbian Art Research. pp. 59–76. <a href="/wiki/OCLC_(identifier)" class="mw-redirect" title="OCLC (identifier)">OCLC</a> <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://search.worldcat.org/oclc/1087842">1087842</a>.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Abook&rft.genre=bookitem&rft.atitle=Ritual+Blood-Sacrifice+among+the+Ancient+Maya%3A+Part+I&rft.btitle=Primera+Mesa+Redonda+de+Palenque&rft.place=Pebble+Beach%2C+California%2C+USA&rft.pages=59-76&rft.pub=Robert+Louis+Stevenson+School%2C+Pre-Columbian+Art+Research&rft.date=1974&rft_id=info%3Aoclcnum%2F1087842&rft.au=Joralemon%2C+D.&rft_id=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.mesoweb.com%2Fpari%2Fpublications%2FRT02%2FJoralemon1974.pdf&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3ASacrifice+in+Maya+culture" class="Z3988"></span></li> <li><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite id="CITEREFMarcus,_Joyce1978" class="citation journal cs1">Marcus, Joyce (October 1978). 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Norman, Oklahoma, USA.: University of Oklahoma Press. <a href="/wiki/ISBN_(identifier)" class="mw-redirect" title="ISBN (identifier)">ISBN</a> <a href="/wiki/Special:BookSources/0-8061-2277-3" title="Special:BookSources/0-8061-2277-3"><bdi>0-8061-2277-3</bdi></a>. <a href="/wiki/OCLC_(identifier)" class="mw-redirect" title="OCLC (identifier)">OCLC</a> <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://search.worldcat.org/oclc/367934547">367934547</a>.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Abook&rft.genre=bookitem&rft.atitle=Olmec+Bloodletting%3A+An+Iconographic+Study&rft.btitle=Sixth+Palenque+Round+Table+1986&rft.place=Norman%2C+Oklahoma%2C+USA.&rft.pub=University+of+Oklahoma+Press&rft.date=1991&rft_id=info%3Aoclcnum%2F367934547&rft.isbn=0-8061-2277-3&rft.au=Joyce%2C+Rosemary&rft.au=Richard+Edging&rft.au=Karl+Lorenz&rft.au=Susan+Gillespie&rft_id=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.mesoweb.com%2Fpari%2Fpublications%2FRT08%2FBloodletting.pdf&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3ASacrifice+in+Maya+culture" class="Z3988"></span></li> <li><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite id="CITEREFLee,_J.C.1996" class="citation book cs1">Lee, J.C. 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Bundoora, Victoria, Australia: School of Historical and European Studies, La Trobe University: 53–68. <a href="/wiki/ISSN_(identifier)" class="mw-redirect" title="ISSN (identifier)">ISSN</a> <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://search.worldcat.org/issn/1835-3509">1835-3509</a>. 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"Forgotten Chapters of Yucatán's Past: Nineteenth-Century Politics in Historiographical Perspective". <i>Mexican Studies/Estudios Mexicanos</i>. <b>12</b> (2). Berkeley, California, USA.: University of California Press. <a href="/wiki/ISSN_(identifier)" class="mw-redirect" title="ISSN (identifier)">ISSN</a> <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://search.worldcat.org/issn/0742-9797">0742-9797</a>. <a href="/wiki/OCLC_(identifier)" class="mw-redirect" title="OCLC (identifier)">OCLC</a> <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://search.worldcat.org/oclc/201093286">201093286</a>.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Ajournal&rft.genre=article&rft.jtitle=Mexican+Studies%2FEstudios+Mexicanos&rft.atitle=Forgotten+Chapters+of+Yucat%C3%A1n%27s+Past%3A+Nineteenth-Century+Politics+in+Historiographical+Perspective&rft.volume=12&rft.issue=2&rft.date=1996&rft_id=info%3Aoclcnum%2F201093286&rft.issn=0742-9797&rft.au=Wells%2C+Allen&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3ASacrifice+in+Maya+culture" class="Z3988"></span></li></ul> </div> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="Further_reading">Further reading</h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Sacrifice_in_Maya_culture&action=edit&section=12" title="Edit section: Further reading"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <ul><li><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222"><cite id="CITEREFZaccagnini,_Jessica2003" class="citation web cs1">Zaccagnini, Jessica (2003). <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://opensiuc.lib.siu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1335&context=uhp_theses">"Maya Ritual and Myth: Human Sacrifice in the Context of the Ballgame and the Relationship to the Popol Vuh"</a> <span class="cs1-format">(<a href="/wiki/PDF" title="PDF">PDF</a>)</span>. Southern Illinois University Carbondale.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Abook&rft.genre=unknown&rft.btitle=Maya+Ritual+and+Myth%3A+Human+Sacrifice+in+the+Context+of+the+Ballgame+and+the+Relationship+to+the+Popol+Vuh&rft.pub=Southern+Illinois+University+Carbondale&rft.date=2003&rft.au=Zaccagnini%2C+Jessica&rft_id=http%3A%2F%2Fopensiuc.lib.siu.edu%2Fcgi%2Fviewcontent.cgi%3Farticle%3D1335%26context%3Duhp_theses&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3ASacrifice+in+Maya+culture" class="Z3988"></span></li></ul> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="External_links">External links</h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Sacrifice_in_Maya_culture&action=edit&section=13" title="Edit section: External links"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <ul><li><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.mesoweb.com/">Mesoweb</a>, a rich source of scholarship, images, and other resources</li> <li><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20110725152807/http://www.worldmuseumofman.org/mayan2.php?collection=TRUE">Collection of Tools and Weapons used in Maya Sacrifice Rituals - World Museum of Man</a></li></ul> <div class="navbox-styles"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1129693374"><style data-mw-deduplicate="TemplateStyles:r1236075235">.mw-parser-output .navbox{box-sizing:border-box;border:1px solid #a2a9b1;width:100%;clear:both;font-size:88%;text-align:center;padding:1px;margin:1em auto 0}.mw-parser-output .navbox .navbox{margin-top:0}.mw-parser-output .navbox+.navbox,.mw-parser-output .navbox+.navbox-styles+.navbox{margin-top:-1px}.mw-parser-output .navbox-inner,.mw-parser-output .navbox-subgroup{width:100%}.mw-parser-output .navbox-group,.mw-parser-output .navbox-title,.mw-parser-output .navbox-abovebelow{padding:0.25em 1em;line-height:1.5em;text-align:center}.mw-parser-output .navbox-group{white-space:nowrap;text-align:right}.mw-parser-output .navbox,.mw-parser-output .navbox-subgroup{background-color:#fdfdfd}.mw-parser-output .navbox-list{line-height:1.5em;border-color:#fdfdfd}.mw-parser-output .navbox-list-with-group{text-align:left;border-left-width:2px;border-left-style:solid}.mw-parser-output tr+tr>.navbox-abovebelow,.mw-parser-output tr+tr>.navbox-group,.mw-parser-output tr+tr>.navbox-image,.mw-parser-output tr+tr>.navbox-list{border-top:2px solid #fdfdfd}.mw-parser-output .navbox-title{background-color:#ccf}.mw-parser-output .navbox-abovebelow,.mw-parser-output .navbox-group,.mw-parser-output .navbox-subgroup .navbox-title{background-color:#ddf}.mw-parser-output .navbox-subgroup .navbox-group,.mw-parser-output .navbox-subgroup .navbox-abovebelow{background-color:#e6e6ff}.mw-parser-output .navbox-even{background-color:#f7f7f7}.mw-parser-output .navbox-odd{background-color:transparent}.mw-parser-output .navbox .hlist td dl,.mw-parser-output .navbox .hlist td ol,.mw-parser-output .navbox .hlist td ul,.mw-parser-output .navbox td.hlist dl,.mw-parser-output .navbox td.hlist ol,.mw-parser-output .navbox td.hlist ul{padding:0.125em 0}.mw-parser-output .navbox .navbar{display:block;font-size:100%}.mw-parser-output .navbox-title .navbar{float:left;text-align:left;margin-right:0.5em}body.skin--responsive .mw-parser-output .navbox-image img{max-width:none!important}@media print{body.ns-0 .mw-parser-output .navbox{display:none!important}}</style></div><div role="navigation" class="navbox" aria-labelledby="Maya_civilization" style="padding:3px"><table class="nowraplinks mw-collapsible autocollapse navbox-inner" style="border-spacing:0;background:transparent;color:inherit"><tbody><tr><th scope="col" class="navbox-title" colspan="3" style="background-color: #50C878; color:white;"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1129693374"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1239400231"><div class="navbar plainlinks hlist navbar-mini"><ul><li class="nv-view"><a href="/wiki/Template:Maya" title="Template:Maya"><abbr title="View this template" style="color:white">v</abbr></a></li><li class="nv-talk"><a href="/wiki/Template_talk:Maya" title="Template talk:Maya"><abbr title="Discuss this template" style="color:white">t</abbr></a></li><li class="nv-edit"><a href="/wiki/Special:EditPage/Template:Maya" title="Special:EditPage/Template:Maya"><abbr title="Edit this template" style="color:white">e</abbr></a></li></ul></div><div id="Maya_civilization" style="font-size:114%;margin:0 4em"><a href="/wiki/Maya_civilization" title="Maya civilization"><span style="color:white">Maya civilization</span></a></div></th></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="background-color: #50C878; color:white;;width:1%"><a href="/wiki/History_of_the_Maya_civilization" title="History of the Maya civilization"><span style="color:white">History</span></a></th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-odd hlist" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Preclassic_Maya" title="Preclassic Maya">Preclassic Maya</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Classic_Maya_collapse" title="Classic Maya collapse">Classic Maya collapse</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Spanish_conquest_of_the_Maya" title="Spanish conquest of the Maya">Spanish conquest</a> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Spanish_conquest_of_Chiapas" title="Spanish conquest of Chiapas">Chiapas</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Spanish_conquest_of_Guatemala" title="Spanish conquest of Guatemala">Guatemala</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Spanish_conquest_of_Pet%C3%A9n" title="Spanish conquest of Petén">Petén</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Spanish_conquest_of_Yucat%C3%A1n" title="Spanish conquest of Yucatán">Yucatán</a></li></ul></li></ul> </div></td><td class="noviewer navbox-image" rowspan="8" style="width:1px;padding:0 0 0 2px"><div><span typeof="mw:File"><a href="/wiki/File:Codex_Lacambalam_l%C3%A1mina_15.png" class="mw-file-description"><img src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/3/3d/Codex_Lacambalam_l%C3%A1mina_15.png/80px-Codex_Lacambalam_l%C3%A1mina_15.png" decoding="async" width="80" height="114" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/3/3d/Codex_Lacambalam_l%C3%A1mina_15.png/120px-Codex_Lacambalam_l%C3%A1mina_15.png 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/3/3d/Codex_Lacambalam_l%C3%A1mina_15.png/160px-Codex_Lacambalam_l%C3%A1mina_15.png 2x" data-file-width="1432" data-file-height="2032" /></a></span></div></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="background-color: #50C878; color:white;;width:1%">Topics</th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-even hlist" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Maya_architecture" title="Maya architecture">Architecture</a> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/E-Group" title="E-Group">E-Group</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Triadic_pyramid" title="Triadic pyramid">Triadic pyramid</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Twin-pyramid_complex" title="Twin-pyramid complex">Twin-pyramid complex</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Mayan_Revival_architecture" title="Mayan Revival architecture">Revival</a></li></ul></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Ancient_Maya_art" title="Ancient Maya art">Art</a> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Ancient_Maya_graffiti" title="Ancient Maya graffiti">Graffiti</a></li></ul></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Maya_ceramics" title="Maya ceramics">Ceramics</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Mayan_cities" title="Mayan cities">Cities</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Ancient_Maya_cuisine" title="Ancient Maya cuisine">Cuisine</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Maya_dance" title="Maya dance">Dance</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Economy_of_the_Maya_civilization" title="Economy of the Maya civilization">Economy</a> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Trade_in_Maya_civilization" title="Trade in Maya civilization">Trade</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Maritime_trade_in_the_Maya_civilization" title="Maritime trade in the Maya civilization">Maritime trade</a></li></ul></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Mayan_languages" title="Mayan languages">Languages</a> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Classic_Maya_language" title="Classic Maya language">Classic</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Maya_script" title="Maya script">Script</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/List_of_Mayan_languages" title="List of Mayan languages">List</a></li></ul></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Mayanist" title="Mayanist">Mayanist</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Maya_medicine" title="Maya medicine">Medicine</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Maya_music" title="Maya music">Music</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Maya_mythology" title="Maya mythology">Mythology</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Maya_numerals" title="Maya numerals">Numerals</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Maya_peoples" title="Maya peoples">People</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/List_of_Maya_sites" title="List of Maya sites">Sites</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Maya_stelae" title="Maya stelae">Stelae</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Maya_textiles" title="Maya textiles">Textiles</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Maya_warfare" title="Maya warfare">Warfare</a></li></ul> </div></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="background-color: #50C878; color:white;;width:1%"><a href="/wiki/Maya_society" title="Maya society"><span style="color:white">Society</span></a></th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-odd hlist" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Childhood_in_Maya_society" title="Childhood in Maya society">Childhood</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Women_in_Maya_society" title="Women in Maya society">Women</a> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Midwifery_in_Maya_society" title="Midwifery in Maya society">Midwifery</a></li></ul></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Maya_religion" title="Maya religion">Religion</a> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Maya_priesthood" title="Maya priesthood">Priesthood</a></li> <li><a class="mw-selflink selflink">Sacrifice</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Human_sacrifice_in_Maya_culture" title="Human sacrifice in Maya culture">Human sacrifice</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Maya_death_rituals" title="Maya death rituals">Death rituals</a></li></ul></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Maya_social_classes" title="Maya social classes">Social classes</a> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Ajaw" title="Ajaw">Ajaw</a></li></ul></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Maya_households" title="Maya households">Households</a></li></ul> </div></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="background-color: #50C878; color:white;;width:1%"><a href="/wiki/Maya_calendar" title="Maya calendar"><span style="color:white">Calendar</span></a></th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-even hlist" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Ajaw" title="Ajaw">Ajaw</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Baktun" title="Baktun">Baktun</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Haab%CA%BC" title="Haabʼ">Haabʼ</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/K%CA%BCatun" title="Kʼatun">Kʼatun</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/K%CA%BCin" title="Kʼin">Kʼin</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Tun_(Maya_calendar)" class="mw-redirect" title="Tun (Maya calendar)">Tun</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Tzolk%CA%BCin" title="Tzolkʼin">Tzolkʼin</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Winal" title="Winal">Winal</a></li></ul> </div></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="background-color: #50C878; color:white;;width:1%">Literature</th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-odd hlist" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"> <ul><li><i><a href="/wiki/Annals_of_the_Cakchiquels" title="Annals of the Cakchiquels">Annals of the Cakchiquels</a></i></li> <li><i><a href="/wiki/Chilam_Balam" title="Chilam Balam">Chilam Balam</a></i></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Maya_codices" title="Maya codices">Codices</a> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Dresden_Codex" title="Dresden Codex"><i>Dresden</i></a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Maya_Codex_of_Mexico" title="Maya Codex of Mexico"><i>Grolier</i></a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Madrid_Codex_(Maya)" title="Madrid Codex (Maya)"><i>Madrid</i></a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Paris_Codex" title="Paris Codex"><i>Paris</i></a></li></ul></li> <li><i><a href="/wiki/Popol_Vuh" title="Popol Vuh">Popol Vuh</a></i></li> <li><i><a href="/wiki/Rabinal_Ach%C3%AD" title="Rabinal Achí">Rabinal Achí</a></i></li> <li><i><a href="/wiki/Ritual_of_the_Bacabs" title="Ritual of the Bacabs">Ritual of the Bacabs</a></i></li> <li><i><a href="/wiki/Songs_of_Dzitbalch%C3%A9" title="Songs of Dzitbalché">Songs of Dzitbalché</a></i></li> <li><i><a href="/wiki/T%C3%ADtulo_C%CA%BCoyoi" title="Título Cʼoyoi">Título Cʼoyoi</a></i></li> <li><i><a href="/wiki/T%C3%ADtulo_de_Totonicap%C3%A1n" title="Título de Totonicapán">Título de Totonicapán</a></i></li></ul> </div></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="background-color: #50C878; color:white;;width:1%"><a href="/wiki/List_of_Maya_gods_and_supernatural_beings" title="List of Maya gods and supernatural beings"><span style="color:white">Deities</span></a></th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-even hlist" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"> <dl><dt>Classic</dt> <dd><a href="/wiki/Bacab" title="Bacab">Bacab</a></dd> <dd><a href="/wiki/Chaac" title="Chaac">Chaac</a></dd> <dd><a href="/wiki/Maya_death_gods" title="Maya death gods">Death gods</a></dd> <dd><a href="/wiki/God_L" title="God L">God L</a></dd> <dd><a href="/wiki/Goddess_I" title="Goddess I">Goddess I</a></dd> <dd><a href="/wiki/Maya_Hero_Twins" title="Maya Hero Twins">Hero Twins</a></dd> <dd><a href="/wiki/Howler_monkey_gods" title="Howler monkey gods">Howler monkey gods</a></dd> <dd><a href="/wiki/Itzamna" title="Itzamna">Itzamna</a></dd> <dd><a href="/wiki/Ixchel" title="Ixchel">Ixchel</a></dd> <dd><a href="/wiki/Maya_jaguar_gods" title="Maya jaguar gods">Jaguar gods</a></dd> <dd><a href="/wiki/K%CA%BCawiil" title="Kʼawiil">Kʼawiil</a></dd> <dd><a href="/wiki/Kinich_Ahau" title="Kinich Ahau">Kinich Ahau</a></dd> <dd><a href="/wiki/Maya_maize_god" title="Maya maize god">Maize god</a></dd> <dd><a href="/wiki/Mam_(Maya_mythology)" title="Mam (Maya mythology)">Mam</a></dd> <dd><a href="/wiki/Maya_moon_goddess" title="Maya moon goddess">Moon goddess</a></dd> <dd><a href="/wiki/Yopaat" title="Yopaat">Yopaat</a></dd></dl> <dl><dt>Post-Classic</dt> <dd><a href="/wiki/Acat_(deity)" title="Acat (deity)">Acat</a></dd> <dd><a href="/wiki/Ah-Muzen-Cab" title="Ah-Muzen-Cab">Ah-Muzen-Cab</a></dd> <dd><a href="/wiki/Akna_(Maya_mythology)" class="mw-redirect" title="Akna (Maya mythology)">Akna</a></dd> <dd><a href="/wiki/Chin_(deity)" title="Chin (deity)">Chin</a></dd> <dd><a href="/wiki/Ixtab" title="Ixtab">Ixtab</a></dd> <dd><a href="/wiki/Kukulkan" title="Kukulkan">Kukulkan</a></dd> <dd><a href="/wiki/Yum_Kaax" title="Yum Kaax">Yum Kaax</a></dd></dl> <dl><dt><i>Popol Vuh</i></dt> <dd><a href="/wiki/Awilix" title="Awilix">Awilix</a></dd> <dd><a href="/wiki/Camazotz" title="Camazotz">Camazotz</a></dd> <dd><a href="/wiki/Hun_Hunahpu" title="Hun Hunahpu">Hun Hunahpu</a></dd> <dd><a href="/wiki/Huracan" title="Huracan">Huracan</a></dd> <dd><a href="/wiki/Jacawitz" title="Jacawitz">Jacawitz</a></dd> <dd><a href="/wiki/Q%CA%BCuq%CA%BCumatz" title="Qʼuqʼumatz">Qʼuqʼumatz</a></dd> <dd><a href="/wiki/Tohil" title="Tohil">Tohil</a></dd> <dd><a href="/wiki/Vucub_Caquix" title="Vucub Caquix">Vucub Caquix</a></dd> <dd><a href="/wiki/Xmucane_and_Xpiacoc" title="Xmucane and Xpiacoc">Xmucane and Xpiacoc</a></dd> <dd><a href="/wiki/Xquic" title="Xquic">Xquic</a></dd> <dd><a href="/wiki/Zipacna" title="Zipacna">Zipacna</a></dd></dl> </div></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="background-color: #50C878; color:white;;width:1%"><a href="/wiki/Maya_Kings_and_Queens" class="mw-redirect" title="Maya Kings and Queens"><span style="color:white">Kings</span></a></th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-odd hlist" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/B%CA%BCalaj_Chan_K%CA%BCawiil" title="Bʼalaj Chan Kʼawiil">Bʼalaj Chan Kʼawiil</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Ha%CA%BC_K%CA%BCin_Xook" title="Haʼ Kʼin Xook">Haʼ Kʼin Xook</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Itzam_K%CA%BCan_Ahk_II" title="Itzam Kʼan Ahk II">Itzam Kʼan Ahk II</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/K%CA%BCak%CA%BC_Tiliw_Chan_Yopaat" title="Kʼakʼ Tiliw Chan Yopaat">Kʼakʼ Tiliw Chan Yopaat</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/K%CA%BCinich_Janaab%CA%BC_Pakal" title="Kʼinich Janaabʼ Pakal">Kʼinich Janaabʼ Pakal</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/K%CA%BCinich_Yat_Ahk_II" title="Kʼinich Yat Ahk II">Kʼinich Yat Ahk II</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/K%CA%BCinich_Yax_K%CA%BCuk%CA%BC_Mo%CA%BC" title="Kʼinich Yax Kʼukʼ Moʼ">Kʼinich Yax Kʼukʼ Moʼ</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/K%CA%BCinich_Yo%CA%BCnal_Ahk_I" title="Kʼinich Yoʼnal Ahk I">Kʼinich Yoʼnal Ahk I</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Uaxaclajuun_Ub%CA%BCaah_K%CA%BCawiil" title="Uaxaclajuun Ubʼaah Kʼawiil">Uaxaclajuun Ubʼaah Kʼawiil</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Yo%CA%BCnal_Ahk_III" title="Yoʼnal Ahk III">Yoʼnal Ahk III</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Yuknoom_Ch%CA%BCeen_II" title="Yuknoom Chʼeen II">Yuknoom Chʼeen II</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Yuknoom_Yich%CA%BCaak_K%CA%BCahk%CA%BC" title="Yuknoom Yichʼaak Kʼahkʼ">Yuknoom Yichʼaak Kʼahkʼ</a></li></ul> </div></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="background-color: #50C878; color:white;;width:1%"><a href="/wiki/Women_rulers_in_Maya_society" title="Women rulers in Maya society"><span style="color:white">Queens</span></a></th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-even hlist" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Lady_Eveningstar" title="Lady Eveningstar">Lady Eveningstar</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Lady_of_Itzan" title="Lady of Itzan">Lady of Itzan</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Lady_of_Tikal" title="Lady of Tikal">Lady of Tikal</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Lady_Xoc" title="Lady Xoc">Lady Xoc</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Sak_K%CA%BCuk%CA%BC" title="Sak Kʼukʼ">Sak Kʼukʼ</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Wak_Chanil_Ajaw" title="Wak Chanil Ajaw">Wak Chanil Ajaw</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Yohl_Ik%CA%BCnal" title="Yohl Ikʼnal">Yohl Ikʼnal</a></li></ul> </div></td></tr></tbody></table></div>    </div><noscript><img src="https://login.wikimedia.org/wiki/Special:CentralAutoLogin/start?type=1x1" alt="" width="1" height="1" style="border: none; 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