(ORDO NEWS) — The remains of dozens of child sacrifice victims have been discovered in Peru, and archaeologists are confident that more will be found in the future. The skeletons found indicate that the hearts were removed from the children.
Gabriel Prieto, Assistant Professor of Anthropology at the University of Florida, USA, who is leading the excavation at Pampa La Cruz, says that all 76 skeletons had a “transverse clean section of the sternum,” suggesting that “probably the children’s chests were opened, and then they took out the heart.”
“They were buried in an extended position, with their feet to the east, on top of an artificial mound,” Prieto said. However, it is not clear why the victims were positioned in this position in this location.
Previously, scientists assumed that there could not be any sacrifices of the Chimu people in these places.
Mysterious excavations
Excavations in Pampa la Cruz have been going on for several years. So far, 323 child sacrifices have been found at the site, and another 137 children and three adults have been found at a nearby site called Las Lam. These remains also show that children had their hearts removed.
According to Prieto, based on archaeological finds, it is likely that scientists have yet to find “most of the victims.” Archaeologists suggest that there may be more than 1,000 remains in this region.
The 76 recently discovered skeletons need to be radiocarbon dated, but previously found victims in Pampa la Cruz have been dated to between 1100 and 1200 AD. Around this time, the Chimu people flourished in the area, known for their fine metalwork and the city of Chan Chan.
It is not clear why the Chimu performed child sacrifice in the area on such a large scale, but they also built an artificial irrigation system and new agricultural fields nearby, and some sacrifices may have been performed to “sanctify” this agricultural system.
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