Grim Details About The Mayan Empire That Definitely Weren't In The History Books
From 2000 BC to 1539 AD, the Mayan Empire enjoyed a legendary, almost mythic reign over Central America. A sophisticated society, the people made huge advancements in farming, language, art, culture, and more, and they have captivated many modern archeologists. Experts continue uncovering incredible structures and artifacts that pull back the curtain of the Mayan empire, and these little-known discoveries are painting a much more vivid picture of the empire than we ever saw in history books.
Extreme Faith
The Mayans feared their gods, so they attempted to please/feed the deities with sacrifices. Early on, only noble-born people were sacrificed due to their pure blood, but eventually, Mayans started using criminals and orphans. Most ritualistic sacrifices took place in caves.
Hardcore Partying
Astonishingly, there are extensive records of Mayans being outrageous partiers. They used drugs and alcohol regularly, and even ingested these things rectally for increased intoxication at rapid rates. We don't have the evidence to back this statement but, but alcohol enemas probably ended terribly very often and must have been gruesome to witness.
Mayan Gift to Humanity
Believe it or not, the Mayans invented chocolate! They used it along with other ingredients in a regular drink for rituals and ceremonies. There is also evidence that they figured out how to make chocolate very similar to what we eat today!
Beauty and Makeup
The Mayans were early pioneers of makeup and other beauty products. It was hard work being beautiful in Mayan society and often came with great physical sacrifice. Both men and women subjected their bodies to things like skull binding for social status.
