Six mummified children thought to have been sacrificed hundreds of years ago, apparently to accompany a dead nobleman to the afterlife, have been unearthed in a tomb near Lima, archaeologists reported.
Archaeologists have recently excavated 6 mummified children, believed to have been sacrificed centuries ago, seemingly to accompany a dead nobleman to the next world, in a tomb near Lima, Peru.
Source: Reuters
The small skeletal remains, tightly wrapped in cloth, were discovered in the burial site of a significant man, probably a political figure, last November, at the excavation location of Cajamarquilla, 15 miles east of Lima.
“The children could be close relatives and were placed… in different parts of the entrance of the tomb of the (nobleman’s) mummy, one on top of the other,” archaeologist Pieter Van Dalen, head of the excavation team, shared. “The children, according to our working hypothesis, would have been sacrificed to accompany the mummy to the underworld.”
Source: Reuters
A municipality erected out of mud in about 200 BC in the pre-Inca era, inhabited until about 1500, Cajamarquilla might have housed up to 10,000-20,000 residents. The mummies date back between 1,000 and 1,200 years ago, according to Van Dalen.
The archaeological team also discovered the skeletons of 7 adults not mummified, together with the remnants of llama-like creatures, and earthenware nearby. In fact, the remnants of the supposed nobleman were discovered last year in a 3-meter long and 1.4-meter deep tomb in Cajamarquilla, one of the biggest archaeological complexes near Lima.
Source: Reuters
The nobleman had been around his 20s when he passed away, buried with his face covered by his hands, tied up with rope. In 2018, Peruvian archaeologists discovered the proof of the largest-ever child sacrifice, revealing the remnants of more than 140 children slain together with 200 llamas as part of a ceremonial tribute 550 years ago.
Researchers determined that the children were between the ages of five and 14, although most were between eight and 12 when they died, with their bodies buried facing west — out to sea. “It is ritual killing, and it’s very systematic,” said John Verano, a physical anthropologist from Tulane University in New Orleans.
Source: Reuters