Photo: A human skeleton unearthed at Huaca Santa Rosa de Pucalá (Edgar Bracamonte Lévano)
Scientists have uncovered the bodies of 29 people, 4 of which are believed to have been killed 1,000 years ago as part of a human sacrifice ceremony in Peru.
The discovery was made at Huaca Santa Rosa de Pucalá in the northwest of the country and are the first known examples of human sacrifice within the Wari civilisation. In addition to the humans, the bodies of llamas, alpacas and guinea pigs were also discovered, likely also sacrificed at the same time.
The sacrificed bodies were housed behind a Wari D-shaped enclosure, something seen throughout Wari culture. Two of the bodies believed sacrificed belonged to children and one to a teenager, the rest were adults.
Bracamonte Lévano, who led the investigation, told science alert:
"[These human offerings were likely] part of a possible ritual carried out at the time of starting the construction of these Wari-style religious spaces."
The other 25 bodies are not believed to be Wari peoples but instead of the Mochica, or Moche civilisations. They had existed for long before the Wari but were eventually replaced by them.
The Wari civilisation flourished in Peru, mostly on coastal and mountain areas, in the years 500 to 1000AD. The Wari were renowned for their pottery and textiles and even developed complex agricultural techniques, such as terracing, which shows that they were significantly technologically advanced.
Peru North says of the Wari:
"The Wari (also spelt Huari) emerged in Peru's central Andes around AD 600 as an expansionist, military, religious culture which built outposts over much of present-day Peru. They spoke their own language, and as they conquered other small groups they imposed the Wari language and culture upon them, eliminating the oral traditions of earlier groups."
"Wari architecture, built for earthquake resistance and sometimes using polygonal blocks, also influenced the later Inca building style. Their fine tapestries and weavings were among the best produced by any culture and, because they were used for significant burials in the dry desert regions, have survived well and can be seen in museums. The Wari culture's apogee was reached by the ninth century. Its decline is poorly understood, but by 1100 AD the Wari Empire had broken down into several sub-groups, which eventually were conquered by the Incas."
Human sacrifice appears to have been common throughout the world in earlier societies and were often used in the belief that they would gain the affection of god or gods for the brutal act. Both the Aztecs and the Mayans became notorious for human sacrifice, often killing hundreds of individuals at one time.
[Based on reporting by: science alert]
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