(ORDO NEWS) — In Peru, an international mission of archaeologists, while conducting research near the city of Barranca, discovered a temple complex from the pre-Columbian period.
The tomb of a boy with an artificially deformed skull was also found in the sanctuary.
The temple complex was discovered on the hill of Cerro Colorado by a joint mission between Polish archaeologists from the Jagiellonian University and Peruvian archaeologists from the University of St. Mark in Lima.
The excavations are carried out within the framework of the Programa de Investigacion “Los valles de Barranca”. In total, there are four burial mounds on this hill, under which ancient objects are hidden.
As part of the excavations, two burial mounds were explored. As a result, scientists have identified human burials and monumental architecture.
They established that in ancient times a temple complex was built here from dried bricks and stone blocks.
Archaeologists have unearthed several burials dating back to the period of the Wari Empire, which preceded the Inca Empire. Unfortunately, most of the tombs were destroyed.
In one of these destroyed burials, the researchers found the remains of a boy whose skull was deliberately deformed. This fact alone indicates that the boy belonged to the upper class.
It is believed that artificially deformed skulls among the ancient peoples of South America were a hallmark of the elite of society.
In addition, scientists have established that the body of the boy before burial was wrapped in a piece of cloth three meters long, and the cloth was decorated with unique zoomorphic images.
Previously, scientists have not found similar drawings. All this suggests that the boy came from a high-status family.
Physical-chemical analysis and carbon dating of organic remains showed that the construction of the temple complex was carried out between 2500-2200 BC.
However, the boy was buried about a thousand years ago.
Scientists explain this by the traditions of the inhabitants of the Andes, who actively used for their rituals, including funerals, objects and structures built thousands of years before them.
Scientists have established that the boy was a representative of the Wari culture. However, the question of who exactly built the temple complex in the third millennium BC remains open.
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