Lima (AFP)
Archaeological remains buried over 1,000 years ago have been found in Huaca Santa Rosa de Pucala, in an ancient ceremonial center located in the coastal region of Lambayeque, 750 kilometers north of Lima.
The graves of the three children and a teenager at the front of the temple indicate that they were human sacrifices from the Wari (or Huari) culture, excavation manager Edgar Bracamonte told AFP.
This is the first time that a discovery linked to the Wari civilization has been made so far from its area of influence, said Mr. Bracamonte, according to which "they make it possible to rethink the history of the region of Lambayeque, in particular the links with the Wari and Moche occupations in the region ".
The Wari built a pre-Inca empire which reached its peak between the year 600 and 1200, spreading over the coastal and Andean parts of present-day Peru.
It declined shortly before the height of the Incas (around 1400-1530).
The Moche (or Mochica) culture developed from the 1st century BC to the 8th century.
In the 29 human remains discovered in the ceremonial temple in the shape of the letter "D" and built between 800 and 900 AD, "25 belonged to the Moche era and four to the Wari culture," said the archaeologist.
One of the most significant discoveries linked to the Moche culture, with the unearthing in 2006 of the mummy of the "Lady of Cao", dating from the fifth century, had upset the previously accepted hypotheses by showing that women could play a major political role in pre-Columbian civilizations.
Archaeologists have discovered the bones of 29 bodies buried more than 1,000 years ago, on an old ceremonial center, on October 21, 2021 in Lambayeque, Peru - MUSEO TUMBAS REALES DE SIPAN / AFP
The discovery in 1987 of another mummy, that of the Lord of Sipan, dating from the third century, is considered by experts as one of the most important archaeological finds of recent decades in the country.
© 2021 AFP