The construction of a ballcourt in the ancient Maya city of Yaxnohcah was probably consecrated with a ritual involving chilli peppers and hallucinogenic morn glory seminal fluid , new research has revealed . Despite decay one C ago , this ceremonial oblation has been identified within a bed of deposit beneath the court using environmental DNA analytic thinking .
As in modern Western cultivation , clod gameswere a large deal in the Maya realm , and arenas were often work up nigh to the most important temple . game like pok - a - tok , in which musician attempted to get a nut through a Lucy Stone hoop , and pelota – which is still played by Indigenous group in Mexico and Central America today – were not only recreational , but alsopolitically and spiritually meaning .
While dig up Yaxnohcah , archeologist came across a political program that was in the beginning used as a base for domesticated anatomical structure before afterward being exchange into aballcourt . Beneath the platform , the investigator find out traces of transmissible fabric belong to four medicinal plants , which were belike buried to bless the playing field of operations .
Ballcourts feature prominently at ancient Maya sites.Image credit: Chris Carpineti
“ When [ the ancient Maya ] raise a new building , they postulate the goodwill of the gods to protect the mass inhabiting it , ” explained sketch author Professor David Lentz in astatement . “ Some people call it an ‘ ensouling ritual , ’ to get a blessing from and stay the gods , ” he says , although others refer to the practice as a “ fix earth ” ritual .
“ The nearest doctrine of analogy today might be like baptize a new ship , ” added Lentz .
And while plant were often included in these sacrificial offerings , determine such a bundle has antecedently evidence insufferable as the stuff itself has long since rotted out . However , using limited probes that are in particular raw to local metal money , the study source were able to notice fragment of deoxyribonucleic acid belong to four plant life in the surrounding sediment .
Of these , the most challenging is a type of sunup glory know topically as xtabentun , the seeds of which contain psychedelic compound with a similar social organization to LSD . Today , dear collected from bee that feed on xtabentun pollen is used to brew mead in southerly Mexico , while ancient Aztec priests take in the flora – which they called coaxihuitl , mean " snake in the grass works " – to commune with the divinity .
Written sources paint a picture that the plant life was belike employ by the ancient Maya “ for ritual drunkenness and soothsaying ” , although until now , no archaeological grounds for the use of xtabentun had ever been found within a Maya context of use .
Chilli black pepper DNA was also observe , suggesting that this industrial plant – which was used medicinally and for “ shamanic divination ” – was present in the ceremonial bundle . Far from a mere spiciness , chillis are considered highly curative within Maya tradition , and continue to be used as discussion for “ T.B. , retard parturition , diarrhoea , blood in the stool or urine , otalgia , hemorrhoids , hide sores , arthritis , and bronchial asthma , ” the generator excuse .
Within their environmental DNA sample distribution , the research worker also identified a eccentric of medicinal lancewood and the leaves of a tree known as jool , the latter of which may have been used to wrap the ceremonial package .
“ Because of its hallucinogenic property , the xtabentun find suggest that the function of this strange collection may have been connected with fortune telling , ” write the subject writer .
“ An even stronger possibility , however , was that this was part of an ensouling or desexualize earth ritual designed to propitiate the idol in a way that would assure their blessings in subsequent activity consort with the newly constructed ceremonial ballcourt space , ” they tote up .
The study is published in the journalPLOS ONE .
