The discovery of the bodies of 76 children sacrificed in Peru about 500 years ago
Recently, in Peru, the tombs of 76 children were sacrificed about a thousand years ago during religious rituals of the pre-Columbian Chimu civilization.
These tombs were discovered during searches conducted in a sacred place where children's bones were previously found.
"We found 76 tombs containing the remains of children who were sacrificed," said archaeologist Luis Flores.
The remains of these children, who were sacrificed between the ages of 6 and 15, were found between July and August in two small squares at the Pampa la Cruz site of the coastal resort of Huanchaco near the city of Trujillo, about 500 kilometers north of the capital, Lima.
Between 2016 and 2019, the same team of researchers, headed by archaeologist Gabriel Prieto, found the remains of 240 sacrificed children from the Chimo group that lived on the coast of present-day northern Peru between 900 and 1450.
"We were surprised to find more remains when we dug 10 or 20 centimeters deep," said Luis Flores, explaining that the children's chests had opened straight to pull their hearts out.
He added that the children were presented as sacrifices, perhaps coinciding with events that were taking place at the time, such as lack of rain, drought, political (problems) or wars, pointing out that there are several hypotheses that are being studied.
Among the remains found, the bones of five "seated" girls were buried with their heads facing each other in a circle.
"Thanks to the Pampa la Cruz site, we realized that human sacrifice, especially children, was an essential element of the Chimo civilization," Gabriel Prieto told Peruvian news agency Andina.
Besides the Peruvian archaeologists, students and researchers from the Universities of Florida, Tulane and Louisiana participated in the excavation that ended in September.
It is assumed that it will resume in 2023, according to Flores, and the number of discovered human remains is subsequently expected to increase.
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