Science.-Environmental DNA indicates that the Mayans blessed their ball games

MADRID, 29 (EUROPA PRESS) Archaeologists from the University of Cincinnati have found evidence of sacred bows in ball courts built by the ancient Mayans in Mexico.

Using environmental DNA analysis, researchers identified a collection of plants used in ceremonial rituals at the ancient Mayan city of Yaxnohcah. The plants, known for their religious associations and medicinal properties, were discovered beneath the floor of a plaza on which a ball court was built.

The researchers said the ancient Mayans likely made a ceremonial offering during the construction of the ballcourt.

“When they erected a new building, they asked for the good will of the gods to protect the people who inhabited it,” Professor David Lentz said in a statement. “Some people call it an ‘encouragement ritual,’ to obtain a blessing and appease the gods.”

The study was published in the journal PLOS One.

The research was carried out through the National Institute of Anthropology and History of Mexico in collaboration with researchers from the University of Calgary, the Autonomous University of Campeche and the National Autonomous University of Mexico.

Lentz and his research partners have been studying ancient Mesoamerican cultures in Mexico and Central America. New tools that can identify environmental DNA are helping them uncover secrets about how the ancient Mayans might have used these spaces.

Researchers from 2016 to 2022 worked at Yaxnohcah in Campeche, about 9 miles north of the Guatemala border, where they excavated a small area of ​​a ball court.

The ancient Mayans played several ball games, including pok-a-tok, which was a mix of soccer and basketball. Players attempted to pass the ball through a hoop or hoop on a wall.

“But not all ball games had hoops,” Lentz said. “Today we think of ball games as a place of entertainment. It wasn’t like that for the ancient Mayans.”

He referenced a famous Mayan myth of twin heroes who must play a ball game with the gods to escape the underworld. And researchers believe that, in some cases, competitors were sacrificed at the end of the match.

In some ancient Mayan cities such as Tikal in Guatemala, ball courts were built in a prominent location next to the largest temples.

“Ball games took pride of place in the ceremonial center,” Lentz said. “They were a fundamental part of the city.”

Many construction projects today are subject to ceremonies, from the laying of the cornerstone to the placing of the last steel beam to the cutting of the ribbon. The ancient Mayans were also deliberate in their building ceremonies.

“The closest analogy today might be like christening a new ship,” Lentz said.

UC professor emeritus Nicholas Dunning collected a sediment sample at the base of a side wall. Here, at the site known as the Helena complex, researchers believe there was a three-foot-high civic ceremonial platform composed of stone and earth.

The site began as a humble residential structure built on bedrock, Dunning said. These sites of community founders became places consecrated by monumental architecture, she said.

“Over time, important family members were buried within the sprawling platforms, imbuing these places with power. The Mayans practiced ancestor worship,” Dunning said.

“In a sense, structures like the Helena Group were thought to be alive or to have souls that needed to be fed,” he said.

Dunning said that when buildings were expanded or reused, as was the case with the ball game, the ancient Mayans made offerings to bless the site. Archaeologists sometimes find pottery or jewelry in these offerings along with culturally important plants.

“We have known for years from ethnohistoric sources that the Mayans also used perishable materials in these offerings, but it is almost impossible to find them archaeologically, which is what makes this discovery using eDNA so extraordinary,” Dunning said.

Ancient plant remains are rarely discovered in tropical climates, where they decompose quickly. But using environmental DNA, researchers were able to identify several types known for their ritual significance.

“The sequencing of ancient DNA is amazing,” said Alison Weiss, co-author of the study and professor emeritus at the UC School of Medicine.

The UC researchers used a product called RNAlater to preserve the samples during transit back to the labs. Special probes that are sensitive to species found in that region helped them identify fragmented DNA from several species, he said.

They discovered evidence of plants associated with ancient Mayan medicine used in divination rituals.

A type of bellflower called xtabentun is known for its hallucinogenic properties. Today, people make mead from the honey of bees that feed on the pollen of xtabentún flowers.

Chili peppers are today a favorite spice around the world. But for the ancient Mayans, chili peppers were used to treat a variety of illnesses. An offering of chili peppers could have been intended to ward off disease, Lentz said.