Archaeologists in Mexico are studying stingray barbs and a catfish spine recovered from ancient burials along the Maya Train route, with researchers investigating whether the objects were connected to ritual bloodletting and self-sacrifice.
The four remains — three fragments of stingray barbs and one catfish spine — were discovered in funerary contexts during archaeological salvage work on Section 1 of the Maya Train, the 226-kilometre stretch running from Palenque, Chiapas, to Escárcega, Campeche.
Mexico’s National Institute of Anthropology and History (INAH) said the specimens could provide new evidence about ritual self-sacrifice in the region during the pre-Columbian period.
The objects were recovered in June 2021 near Tenosique, Tabasco, in an area associated with the Usumacinta River. Researchers are now conducting further analysis to determine how the spines were used and why they were deposited alongside human remains.
According to archaeologist Said Amiel Luna Limón, evidence from across the Maya world indicates that ritual bloodletting was practised from at least the Late Preclassic through the Postclassic period, roughly 500 BC to AD 1520.
The practice involved deliberately drawing one's own blood as an offering to supernatural beings and could also serve as a form of purification before a larger ceremony.
Researchers believe such rituals were particularly associated with Maya elites and were performed as part of efforts to maintain the cosmic and religious order. Historical and archaeological evidence suggests different parts of the body could be pierced, including the tongue, penis, earlobes and fingertips.
In the southern Maya lowlands, stingray barbs appear to have been among the preferred implements for bloodletting. Depictions on carved lintels and references in surviving documents indicate that blood could be collected on strips or sheets of tree-bark paper, which were subsequently burned. The rising smoke was understood as carrying the offering into the supernatural realm.
Barbs discovered alongside burials
The newly studied specimens were recovered within an area covering approximately three hectares.
One fragment, measuring about three centimetres, consists of the middle portion of a stingray barb and was found in association with a burial. Both ends had fractured, apparently as a result of pressure from surrounding sediment.
Its polished surface, caused by contact with abrasive sediments, indicates that it came from the same archaeological layer as the burial, although researchers said they cannot yet exclude the possibility that it was placed there specifically as a funerary offering.
A second stingray barb also displays polishing and fractures through its middle section. A third, likewise associated with a burial, shows perpendicular fractures attributed to sediment pressure as well as a striated surface with substantial sediment still adhering to it.
The fourth specimen is a catfish spine found in a burial containing the remains of an adult man.
Its presence is particularly intriguing because catfish spines are less commonly associated with evidence of ritual self-sacrifice.
Marisol Arce Acosta, head of the Zooarchaeology Laboratory for the Maya Train Archaeological Salvage Framework Project, said the stingray remains belong to the Dasyatidae — or whip ray — and Myliobatidae — or eagle ray — families. Both are saltwater groups.
The catfish spine, by contrast, belongs to the freshwater Ictaluridae family.
That distinction has opened another avenue of investigation. Researchers do not yet know whether catfish spines were deliberately used as bloodletting implements, but Arce Acosta noted that the specimen was recovered in a context similar to those containing stingray barbs and would have been physically suitable for such a purpose.
Marine materials also carried symbolic associations within Maya belief systems, including connections with the underworld, often referred to as Xibalba.
Archaeological discoveries continue to be studied
Mexico's Secretary of Culture, Claudia Curiel de Icaza, said finds made during archaeological salvage projects can continue producing information long after their initial recovery.
“Each find recovered during an archaeological salvage operation opens new questions about our past,” she said, adding that the objects provide evidence that could help researchers better understand the ritual practices of ancient societies.
The ongoing investigation is being led by Arce Acosta with the participation of Luna Limón.
Beyond their possible ceremonial function, the remains also provide evidence of how ancient communities used the surrounding environment.
Researchers say rivers and other aquatic ecosystems were not simply sources of food but could also provide raw materials for objects carrying religious and ritual significance.
“These pieces constitute material evidence of the use of natural resources,” Arce Acosta said, suggesting that waterways supplied ancient communities with both protein and materials used to produce ritual objects.
Header Image Credit : Amiel Luna
Sources : INAH