The Ancient Mayan Gift of a Spider Monkey

According to a new study, two important per-Hispanic American rulers strengthened their links by cruelly sacrificing a female spider monkey that had been given as a prized gift and sacrificed earlier

The unexpected discovery¹ of the animal's remains at the Teotihuacan ruins in 2018, a UNESCO World Heritage Site in the dry Mexican Highlands, marked the start of the project. If it’s not known, spider monkeys natural habitat is not in Teotihuacan. The authors challenge was to figure out what the animal was doing there, who transported it, and why it was…