ANCIENT Mayan people did not routinely indulge in human sacrifice and ritual
decapitation as is commonly believed. And the evidence comes from an unlikely
source—the burial practices of the medieval monarchs of Europe.
The Mayans built a stunning dynasty that dominated Meso-America from AD 250
to 1200. They were ruled by nobles and kings under a hierarchical system of
government. When scores of incomplete skeletons were uncovered from the graves
of wealthy Mayans, archaeologists interpreted the missing bones as proof of
dismemberment during ritual sacrifices.
But now Estella Weiss-Krejci of the University of Vienna says the most likely
explanation…
