德国马克斯普朗克演化人类学研究所Johannes Krause等研究人员合作发现，古代基因组揭示奇琴伊察祭祀生活的奥秘。相关论文于2024年6月12日在线发表在《自然》杂志上。

研究人员展示了在奇琴伊察祭祀中心的神圣天坑（Sacred Cenote）附近的一个地下群葬中发现的64个亚成年的全基因组数据，这些亚成年的年代大约在公元500-900年之间。基因分析表明，所有被分析的个体都是男性，其中有几名个体关系密切，包括两对单卵双胞胎。

双胞胎在玛雅神话和更广泛的中美洲神话中占有重要地位，他们体现了神灵和英雄的双重性格，但直到现在，在古代玛雅人的停尸房中还没有发现他们的身影。与该地区现今居民的基因对比显示，除了某些与人体免疫有关的基因位点（包括人类白细胞抗原复合物）外，奇琴伊察古代居民的基因具有连续性。

据了解，墨西哥尤卡坦州的奇琴伊察古城是玛雅古典晚期和末期（公元600-1000年）规模最大、最具影响力的玛雅聚居地之一，至今仍是中美洲研究最深入的考古遗址之一。然而，关于其礼仪空间的社会和文化使用，以及其人口与其他中美洲群体的遗传联系等许多问题仍未得到解答。

附：英文原文

Title: Ancient genomes reveal insights into ritual life at Chichén Itzá

Author: Barquera, Rodrigo, Del Castillo-Chvez, Oana, Ngele, Kathrin, Prez-Ramallo, Patxi, Hernndez-Zaragoza, Diana Iraz, Szolek, Andrs, Rohrlach, Adam Benjamin, Librado, Pablo, Childebayeva, Ainash, Bianco, Raffaela Angelina, Penman, Bridget S., Acua-Alonzo, Victor, Lucas, Mary, Lara-Riegos, Julio Csar, Moo-Mezeta, Mara Ermila, Torres-Romero, Julio Csar, Roberts, Patrick, Kohlbacher, Oliver, Warinner, Christina, Krause, Johannes

Issue&Volume: 2024-06-12

Abstract: The ancient city of Chichén Itzá in Yucatán, Mexico, was one of the largest and most influential Maya settlements during the Late and Terminal Classic periods (AD600–1000) and it remains one of the most intensively studied archaeological sites in Mesoamerica1,2,3,4. However, many questions about the social and cultural use of its ceremonial spaces, as well as its population’s genetic ties to other Mesoamerican groups, remain unanswered2. Here we present genome-wide data obtained from 64 subadult individuals dating to around AD500–900 that were found in a subterranean mass burial near the Sacred Cenote (sinkhole) in the ceremonial centre of Chichén Itzá. Genetic analyses showed that all analysed individuals were male and several individuals were closely related, including two pairs of monozygotic twins. Twins feature prominently in Mayan and broader Mesoamerican mythology, where they embody qualities of duality among deities and heroes5, but until now they had not been identified in ancient Mayan mortuary contexts. Genetic comparison to present-day people in the region shows genetic continuity with the ancient inhabitants of Chichén Itzá, except at certain genetic loci related to human immunity, including the human leukocyte antigen complex, suggesting signals of adaptation due to infectious diseases introduced to the region during the colonial period.

DOI: 10.1038/s41586-024-07509-7

Source: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-024-07509-7