Emily Chan
The crab remains have helped reveal more details about the rituals that occurred in the palace hundreds of years ago.
During the ritual banquets of the ancient Maya, food was shared between the participants and the deities.
A researcher named Carlos Varela Scherrer, who specializes in studying animal remains, stated that some Maya communities in northern Chiapas today prepare large amounts of food right before days of festivities.
Leftover food would be poured into holes in the ground as an offering to the deities they worship, a practice that also took place during pre-Hispanic times.
While conducting excavations in the region, researchers came across two ritual deposits. Alongside the crab remains, they found a stucco head that appeared to represent an ancient ruler of Palenque, a ceramic vessel with an image of a Maya deity, and a pipe shaped like a river prawn.
It was rare for such fragile remains, like crab parts, to be among the finds. Their unique preservation is all thanks to the rituals of the ancient Mayas.
“In general terms, we were able to appreciate that these deposits are the product of events that were characterized by the consumption and burning of food and other objects, which were placed over cavities excavated in the floors and quickly covered again, enabling the exceptional conservation of archaeological material,” said Scherrer.
