Ancient elite people practiced incest to hold power within family, study shows

A new study at the heritage site, Paquime shows ancient Mexican elite people practiced incest to hold power within the family. Incest refers to illegal sexual relationships between blood relatives.

Power can make people do strange things, especially in the case of elites. A similar instance happened in the case of ancient Mexcian elites when scientists conducted research at Paquime in Chihuahua. Paquime is a famous ancient UNESCO World Heritage Site whose specific area, “House of Well” is reserved for only elite burial.

They found a two to five-year-old child’s dead body in the burial area of elites, They concluded deceased parents sacrificed him in a ritual to dominate power. His DNA research revealed he originated from incest. It means his parents were blood relatives, either father-daughter or possibly siblings.

*Ancient burial site in Mexico reveals signs of incest among the elite*

However, scientists’ team observed incest only among elite areas comparatively to other common people’s remains lying in a burial site of Paquime.

The Mongolian culture lived in Paquime for more than 700 years. However, the site was mysteriously abandoned around the middle of the fifteenth century. It inspired scientists to research Paquime to gain knowledge about the prevalent social system of that time.

During this, they found ancient elite people living in Mexico practiced incest. Lead author Jakob Sediq stated identical genes of the deceased showed his parents were more closely related than first cousins.

According to the study, the sacrifice of a child from his parents would have been a powerful way to dedicate the “House of the Well” to increase their social and political power. The parents were two members of the local elite community.

It is significant to note that “incest” was a longstanding tradition among elites in some ancient cultures. They considered incest to maintain cultural purity. According to them, establishing sexual relationships within the family would preserve its significant traits and traditions.

*Ancient Mexican elites practiced incest to hold their power*

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Another significant factor for ancient elites to engage in incest was to maintain their power and dominance. Because for them marrying and keeping intimate relationships with non-family members would result in power-sharing. It would ultimately reduce their more influential power.

Elites also used to practice incest as alliances through marriage were critical for maintaining political stability in the region. Hence, the elite ensured political and social alliances remained strong through incest where no outsider could challenge the family’s authority.

Last but not least, the factor that led elites to incest was their “concept of divinity.” Many ancient elite families considered their members as divine or semi-divine. So, they could commit incest to keep their bloodline sacred or chosen by gods which helped legitimize their rule.