It would be inappropriate to state, as a fact established by the genetic evidence, that these specific pairs of twins were selected because they represented the Hero Twins.

That connection is interpretive.

What the genetic evidence establishes is that two pairs of identical twins were present in this specific ritual context.

The cultural significance of that presence, within the symbolic world of Classic and Terminal Classic Maya civilization, is for historians, epigraphers, and religious scholars to illuminate alongside the genomic data.

The Isotope Evidence and Diet

The study combined genomic analysis with stable isotope analysis of the skeletal remains — a different chemical technique that addresses different questions.

Stable isotope analysis of bone collagen and dental enamel can provide information about the diet an individual consumed during life, and about the geographic environment in which they grew up.