Midnight Terror Cave is a cave in central

Belize Belize (; bzj, Bileez) is a Caribbean and Central American country on the northeastern coast of Central America. It is bordered by Mexico to the north, the Caribbean Sea to the east, and Guatemala to the west and south. It also shares a wate ...

that was discovered in 2006 near Springfield. The site was worked on by

California State University The California State University (Cal State or CSU) is a public university system in California. With 23 campuses and eight off-campus centers enrolling 485,550 students with 55,909 faculty and staff, CSU is the largest four-year public univers ...

, Los Angeles' field school as part of the Western Belize Regional Cave Project under Dr. Jaime Awe. The cave contained around 9000 human bones, from at least 118 individuals, and is one of the largest sacrificial assemblages ever discovered in the Maya Lowlands. The site is thought to have been a site of

human sacrifice Human sacrifice is the act of killing one or more humans as part of a ritual, which is usually intended to please or appease gods, a human ruler, an authoritative/priestly figure or spirits of dead ancestors or as a retainer sacrifice, wherein ...

to the Maya rain god

Chaak Chaac (also spelled Chac or, in Classic Mayan, Chaahk ) is the name of the Maya god of rain, thunder, and lighting. With his lightning axe, Chaac strikes the clouds, causing them to produce thunder and rain. Chaac corresponds to Tlaloc among ...

. An analysis of 100 teeth found at the site showed around a quarter to be less worn down than others, suggesting that they came from the mouths of children. The enamel of the teeth showed that these children had travelled to the site from more than 200 miles away. Peer-reviewed articles have discussed preliminary findings from the site as well as pathological findings. Other Maya archaeological sites in the vicinity are

Cahal Pech Cahal Pech is a Maya site located near the town of San Ignacio in the Cayo District of Belize. The site was a palatial, hilltop home for an elite Maya family, and though the most major construction dates to the Classic period, evidence of continuo ...

, Chaa Creek,

El Pilar El Pilar is an ancient Maya city center located on the Belize- Guatemala border. The site is located north of San Ignacio, Belize and can be accessed through the San Ignacio and Bullet Tree Falls on the Belize River. The name "El Pilar" is ...

Xunantunich Xunantunich () is an Ancient Maya archaeological site in western Belize, about 70 miles (110 km) west of Belize City, in the Cayo District. Xunantunich is located atop a ridge above the Mopan River, well within sight of the Guatemala bord ...

, and

Actun Tunichil Muknal Actun Tunichil Muknal (the Cave of the Crystal Sepulchre), also known locally as ATM, is a cave in Belize, near San Ignacio, Cayo District, notable as a Maya archaeological site that includes skeletons, ceramics, and stoneware. There are seve ...

References

Caves of Belize Child sacrifice {{mesoamerica-stub