Six mummies of children, probably sacrificed 1,000 years ago to accompany an official to the afterlife, have been discovered at an archeological site near Lima.
“We found the remains of six mummified children near the tomb of an elite person, whose mummy was unearthed last November,” said archaeologist Peter van Dalen, chief of excavations in the Kahamarikiya region. .
Archaeologists believe the children were sacrificed and that they may have been members of the official’s family. The mummies date back to 800-1000 AD, ie they precede the Inca era by a few centuries.
The remains of seven adults, who had not been mummified, were found a short distance away.
Since November 2021, archaeologists from the University of San Marcos have found a total of 14 remains in Cajamarkίya. The official’s mummy was discovered in November, positioned so that his hands covered his face. Scientists estimate that he was an 18-22 year old man who was buried in a conical chamber, at a depth of 1.40 meters. It seems that despite his age he had a special “economic and social prestige”, Van Dalen explained.
Kahamarkίya was an important urban center, where 10-20,000 people lived. It was founded around 200 BC. and was inhabited until the 16th century.
Follow Skai.gr on Google News
and be the first to know all the news
