Peruvian archaeologists presented this Tuesday the remains of 20 mummies, among them eight children, between 800 and 1,200 years old who were sacrificed as an offering to an elite character from a thousand-year-old urban complex in Cajamarquillaon the outskirts of Lima.
“The importance and significance of these findings is that it is a group of 20 people, including 12 adults and 8 children who were buried in an area adjacent to the tomb of the mummy in Cajamarquilla,” archaeologist Pieter Van told reporters. Dalen, responsible for the Cajamarquilla project.
“This finding allows us to learn more about funerary practices, rituals in this area so close to Lima in periods ranging from 800 to 1,000 years after Christ”Van Dalen told AFP.
The team of archaeologists and representatives of the University of San Marcos found at the beginning of February in Cajamarquillto six funerary bundles of children and the mummy of an important character of that thousand-year-old archaeological center.
The discovery occurred near the burial chamber of about three meters long and at a depth of 1.40 meterswhere in November he found the mummy of who is now presumed to be an important character.
child sacrifice
According to Van Dalen, 35, the children were wrapped in cloth and tied with ropes accompanying the elite character.
“The discovery of so many people here reminds us of other cases such as the Lord of Sipán (northern Peru) where he was buried accompanied by his wife, children and servants,” he said.
The Lord of Sipan was an ancient Mochica ruler of the 3rd century, a culture that dominated the north of ancient Peru. His remains were discovered in July 1987. “Many of these people have been sacrificed, we have identified in bone remains evidence of blows and severe injuries that have caused their death,” he added.
Bones of camelids, like llamas, were also found at the site. The pre-Hispanic mummies would be from the Wari Culture, an Andean civilization that flourished in the central Andes from approximately the 7th to the 13th centuries AD. c.
Cajamarquilla It is considered a pre-Hispanic city of mud that could have housed between 10,000 and 20,000 people in a total of 167 hectares.. It was built around the year 200 BC and was occupied until the year 1500.
“These discoveries are going to give another twist to what Cajamarquilla used to be, where sacrifices and funerary practices were practiced,” archaeologist Yomira Huamán told AFP.
The city is located 24 km east of Lima and is one of the largest archaeological complexes in the Peruvian capital, a metropolis that today has 10 million inhabitants.. (I)
Source: Eluniverso
Paul is a talented author and journalist with a passion for entertainment and general news. He currently works as a writer at the 247 News Agency, where he has established herself as a respected voice in the industry.
