A closer look

While modern humans associate turkeys with being aggressively stuffed and deep-fried on Thursdays, the Maya viewed them as untouchable holy relics. Long before the Spanish arrived, the Maya domesticated the brilliantly colored Ocellated turkey. Instead of putting them on a dinner plate, they used them exclusively for religious ceremonies, believing the birds were sacred messengers of the gods. Eating one would have been considered absolute blasphemy.