A study published Tuesday detailed the ritual sacrifice of a child in ancient Mexico who was likely the result of inbreeding.
The site of the sacrifice was uncovered in Paquimé (Casas Grandes UNESCO site) in northern Chihuahua, Mexico, a region once-home to a “vibrant multicultural center” between the 13th and 14th centuries A.D., the researchers wrote in the study published in the journal Antiquities. While there is ongoing debate over the exact social structure of the Paquimé’s people, new evidence suggests people went to some pretty extreme lengths to “consolidate and legitimize their social standing.”
The remains of a male child aged between two and five years old when he died have long-suggested ritual sacrifice. New DNA analysis of the body revealed a very high number of identical genes and alleles … which means his parents were “more closely related than first cousins,” study author Jakob Sedig said in a statement shared by WION.
Read the original research in Antiquity 🆓
High levels of consanguinity in a child from Paquimé, Chihuahua, Mexico – Jakob Sedig, Meradeth Snow, Michael Searcy, José Luis Punzo Diaz, Steven LeBlanc, Frank Ramos, Laurie Eccles & David Reichhttps://t.co/80XBgbIfYU
13/13 pic.twitter.com/4c37kGypQ6— 🅰ntiquity Journal (@AntiquityJ) August 13, 2024
“These results provide unique insight into social hierarchy and socio-religious practices at Paquimé,” Sedig continued. “The next steps in this research are to continue analyzing the ancient DNA of individuals from Paquimé and northern and western Mexico to help us understand how different groups moved and mixed through time.” (RELATED: 13,000-Year-Old Artwork Hints At The Real Settlers Of The Americas)
The remains were uncovered in an area believed to be reserved for local elite burial, suggesting the child was likely the inbred offspring of someone powerful. Scientists suggest that by offering up the son of two potentially noble individuals, his death would have had huge “social, political, and ritual” meaning.
Levi bernardo, CC BY-SA 3.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0>, via Wikimedia Commons
Gary Todd, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons
Inbreeding and incest is apparently far more common than most people believe. Previous assumptions put inbreeding and incest at rates around one in a million. It turns out the number is more like one in 7,000.
