Located in Central Belize is a cave known as the Midnight Terror Cave. As its name suggests, the place does hold truly dark secrets — it is believed to be a site of human sacrifice to the Maya rain god, Chaak. The Midnight Terror Cave houses over 10,000 bones, which archaeologists believe to be from at least 118 people, many of which suffered physical trauma at the time of their deaths.
To further investigate what happened to these sacrifice victims, researchers examined the calcified plaque (also called dental calculus) from the teeth of these poor individuals, and what they found were mysterious "blue fibers clinging to the teeth of at least two victims."
Upon further examination, researchers found that the teeth samples contained primarily cotton fibers, several of which were dyed bright blue, an important color in the Maya ritual.
It is worth noting that this pigment is used in Maya ceremonies, particularly in painting the bodies of sacrificial victims.
The archaeologists, led by Amy Chan, theorize that the victims were gagged with cotton cloths, possibly for an extended period of time. This could explain why some blue fibers were left on their dental calculus.
Some archaeologists disagree with the theory that Chan's team offered. However, all of them agree that studying dental calculus is crucial, as it not only reveals the diet of a group of people; it could also tell us how they might have lived... or died.
(Image Credit: Linda Scott Cummings/PaleoResearch Institute)