“We discovered the remains of six mummified children near the tomb of a character belonging to the elite” and whose mummy had itself been unearthed in November, the archaeologist told AFP on Sunday. Pieter Van Dalen, manager of the Cajamarquilla site, 24 km east of Lima.
"According to our working hypothesis, these children were sacrificed to accompany this mummy on the way to the afterlife (...) They could be close family members", added the scientist who estimated that these mummies dates back between 800 and 1,000 years after Jesus Christ.
Not far from the children's mummies were found the remains of seven adults, but who were not mummified.
A mummy at the excavation site in Cajamarquilla, near Lima, Peru, on February 13, 2022 Guadalupe Pardo AFP
This discovery brings to 14 the number of bodies found by archaeologists from the University of San Marcos since November 2021 on the Cajamarquilla site.
In November, archaeologists unearthed the mummy of the pre-Inca dignitary, tied with cords and his face covered with his hands.
For scientists, the mummy discovered in a conical burial chamber at 1.40 meters deep on the archaeological site, is probably a man between 18 and 22 years old.
This character "had reached an economic and social status" and perhaps represented a "political authority", believes Pieter Van Dalen.
According to the latter, Cajamarquilla was an important urban center, with around 10,000 to 20,000 inhabitants, built around the year 200 BC and which remained occupied until the 16th century AD.
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