HOMUN, Mexico | A huge poplar tree stands proud in Maribel Ek’s courtyard, adorned with a sign that reads: “Florece desde adentro” (“It blooms from within”). Deep underground, the tree’s long roots ...

Ancient Maya would paint unlucky people blue and throw them down a sacred well as human sacrifices. Now scientists have solved the mystery of how to make the famous blue pigment by analyzing traces on ...

Ancient DNA recovered from 64 individuals whose remains sat underground for centuries is shedding light on their family lineages and exposure to disease. reading time 3 minutes An underground chamber ...

There’s hardly a better way to spend a hot day than swimming in a cenote on Mexico’s Yucatan peninsula. The cool, fresh, 75-degree cenote water is delightful now, when temperatures are in the 80s, and ...

The ancient pigment called Maya blue — the color of a bright, cloudless Caribbean sky — has long fascinated scientists with its ritual uses and mystified them with its durable brilliance. Victims ...

CHICAGO—Anthropologists from Wheaton College (Illinois) and The Field Museum have discovered how the ancient Maya produced an unusual and widely studied blue pigment that was used in offerings, ...

When we modern folks visit a beautiful natural site, the experience may evoke a sense of peace, a feeling of awe, or just the need to snap a million photos. For our ancient forbearers, though, these ...