Archaeologists have discovered the bodies of 227 kids at what they believed is the largest child sacrificial site ever recorded.
It's believed the youngsters were killed as part of a ritual to honour gods and stop bad weather in Trujillo, Peru.
The children - aged between four and 14 - were killed approximately up to 1,400 years ago and buried in a mass grave in Huanchaco, northern Peru.
Pictures released by the experts show some of the skeletons have skin, hair and were wearing silver earmuffs.
Archaeologist Feren Castillo told AFP: "We are the largest place where remains of sacrificed children have been found. There is no other.
"They were sacrificed to appease the El Niño phenomenon, we have found more evidence of rainfall in the findings."
The theory was almost certain given that the children were found buried in a position facing the sea.
Archaeologist Gabriel Prieto added that all children were found with their breastbones 'cut with the aim of possibly opening the rib cage and extracting their hearts'.
The team has been excavating at the Hunchaquito Las llamas site, which is near Trujillo, since 2011.
This is not the first time they have found mass grave with a large number of children skeletons.
"From 2014 to 2016, we found a total of 140 children and approximately 200 llamas at this sacrificial site," he added.
The Chimú culture, which was developed between the 10tha nd 15th centuries of our era, regularly used child sacrifices as a spiritual ritual.
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