Archaeologists have unearthed the remains of over a dozen humans in Peru dated to around 400BC, buried face down with their hands tied behind their backs, revealing insights about strange ancient burial rituals in the region.
The burial discovered in Peru’s northern coastal region of Puémape points to what may have been an ancient ritual sacrifice or burial, say researchers, including those from the National University of San Marcos.
Buried individuals show signs of violence, including blows to multiple parts of the body, fractures, and unusual positions, hinting they were likely sacrificed after an armed conflict.
"The way in which they were placed in the tomb is strange,” Henry Tantaleán from the National University of San Marcos told Live Science.
They were laid to rest "with their faces to the ground, an unusual burial pattern throughout Andean prehistory,” said Dr Tantaleán, who heads the Research Group in Archaeology of Andean Science and Technologies of San Marcos.
"They would have been a sacrifice offered to this ancient place of worship,” he said, adding that it remains unclear who the sacrificed people actually were.
Researchers suspect the buried people may have been from the same area or from the neighbouring valley.
The latest digs in the Puémape archaeological site, located in the district of San Pedro Lloc, revealed new secrets about the ritual architecture and the region’s links to the cult of ancestors in the Jequetepeque valley.
Previous excavations in the region in the 1990s linked its past to the ancient Cupisnique culture.
Now using modern technology, such as satellite images, scientists have gathered a renewed scientific perspective.
Researchers have found that the iconic temple of Puémape was occupied around 1000BC, with human activity at the site confirmed as early as 2200 BC.
With the new finding, archaeologists believe Puémape could be one of the oldest known ritual centres on the northern coast of Peru.
They suspect the ancient region was a place of pilgrimage and ritual burials based on the presence of a large cement area around the temple.
Recent excavations uncovered the entire front of the ancient temple building as well as an access staircase and walls made of large stone blocks.
Scientists have collected ancient plant and animal materials from the archaeological site to better understand the ancient period’s diet, flora and fauna.
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