Doubts surrounding an 800-year-old mass grave in Peru

Many 800-year-old skeletons of children and llamas were found near a fishing village in Peru that is left after the sacrifice ceremony of the pre-Inca civilization Chimu civilization.

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Gabriel Prieto, an archaeologist from Yale Prieto University and his team excavated the area of ​​Chimu when local people found some human skulls on the coastal sand dunes. Here, the team quickly found the skeletons of 6 children, and as they expanded their search, they continued to see more.

Human and animal skeletons are found on a northern coastal coastal sand dune.

Hiding under a shallow grave near the town of Huanchaquito are the remains of the 42-child corpse. Along with 76 skeletons of the animals of the Camedilae family (animals whose feet are thick and have 2 fingers), the first step is most likely to be llamas.

The mass grave near Chan Chan ancient citadel is a religious and administrative center of the Chimu people.

Chan Chan Citadel was built by Chimu people around 850 AD. Chimu with great progress in the field of irrigation, located in the north and center of Peru between 1100 and 1500 AD, when that civilization was conquered by the Incas.

800 years have passed but the remains of the children
detected in a condition that is still quite good.

Conducting analysis of skeletons, the team found that the children were killed by a slash on the chest made with an ax or something similar to a knife. The broken rib cage of the victim shows the possibility that the killer has sought to take away their hearts, the spiritual part considered the most valuable of the person.

Explaining the appearance of camels, the researchers said camels are seen as a means to bring victims to the afterlife.

This is part of a ceremony related to the sea.'In the old northern Peru coast, agriculture has a close connection with the sea , ' Prieto said. 'The temperature of the water can help determine whether it will rain'.

Camels are seen as a means to bring victims to the afterlife.

However, there are still many mysteries around this study. Accordingly, the age of children ranges from about 6 to 18 years old, mostly in the early stages of teenage years, Prieto said. However, gender and their background have not been clarified yet. In the future, analyzing DNA and bone may help answer these questions, the team said.

In addition, in many ancient Andean cultures, llamas are considered to be capable of bringing the dead souls to the afterlife, so it is not surprising that they were killed along with the victims. However, the reason why so many animals are killed is still unknown.