Archaeologists make disturbing discovery inside 'Blood Cave' used by Mayans for ancient rituals

New research has given more detail about what the aptly named 'Blood Cave' was used for thousands of years ago.

Cueva de Sangre, or the 'Blood Cave', has proved fascinating for researchers for decades.

The cave, a Maya ruin, is located beneath the archaeological site of Dos Pilas in Petén, Guatemala, and is one of more than a dozen caves in this region that were used by the Maya people - the Indigenous people of Mesoamerica, specifically southern Mexico and northern Central America.

Archeologists have concluded that the caves were likely used by the people between 400 BC and AD 250, and human bones that were previously discovered in the underground cave have given researchers a greater look into the Maya culture.

The discovery of the bones isn’t anything new, however, as they were found in the early 1990s. But the most interesting thing about the hundreds of bones that were discovered was the condition they were found in.

Many of the bones found in the Blood Cave had evidence of traumatic injuries (Michele Bleuze)

Many have shown that they actually bore evidence of traumatic injuries around the time of their death.

New analysis has concluded that the remains were likely from people who were dismembered as part a ritual sacrifice an estimated 2,000 years ago - giving the Blood Cave's name a chilling meaning.

The artifacts that were discovered in the caves, which included obsidian blades, also help promote the idea that sacrifices took place here.

Experts have also highlighted the clues that indicate the individuals didn’t just seemingly die of these injuries and were buried there.

Michele Bleuze, a bioarchaeologist at California State University, Los Angeles, spoke to Live Science and said: "The emerging pattern that we're seeing is that there are body parts and not bodies.

“In Maya ritual, body parts are just as valuable as the whole body.”

Cave entrance near El Duende (Noche de la pena/Wikimedia Commons)

Ellen Fricano, a forensic anthropologist at Western University of Health Sciences, examined the bones that were found and told Live Science: “There are a few lines of evidence that we used to determine that this was more likely a ritual site than not.”

She highlighted that bones were on the surface, rather than buried, and the injuries to the bones suggest ritual dismemberment, rather than immediate burial.

As well as this, a fragment of the left side of the forehead had a mark suggesting that someone used a tool like a hatchet on the skull and this was made around the time of death.

Bleuze concluded that more research needed to be done to have a better understanding of the ritual and uncover the mystery stating that the analysis of the bones had only just begun.