The ancient Maya civilization is renowned for its sophisticated ... Among their most enigmatic practices were human sacrifices, often performed to appease the gods, as well as ensure agricultural ...

The Maya kings became the high priests during the Classic period (250-900 AD). During the post Classic period (950-1539 AD) gods and human sacrifice were even more important. The Maya believed the ...

Yet Maya men did wear long tunics in religious ceremonies, and scholars now accept that this is one of Copán’s most famous rulers, King Waxaklajun Ub’aah K’awiil, in the guise of a maize god.

But while "only male children were selected for sacrifice" here, rituals varied. Ancient DNA degrades faster in tropical areas, but "we're getting better and better at retrieving even very small ...

and ceremonies that featured a ball game and human sacrifice. The ancient Maya also mastered astronomy, mathematics, art and architecture, and a glyph system of writing on stone, ceramics ...