The juiceless and unforgiving coastal field of Peru might not seem like the ideal location for rich and complex cultures to grow . undergo frequent droughts and hard times , it is a harsh environment in which to make a living . But over the preceding few years , archaeologists have been reveal more and more grounds of flourishing communities and luxuriant cultures building massive structures . It appearsthat they were also partial to a minute of human sacrifice .
researcher have uncovered what they think is evidence of a macabre ceremonial occasion at a temple used by the pre - Incan Sicán culture on the north Peruvian coast . In a secret compound , they found the underframe ofsix young womenshowing evidence of sacrifice , buried incontorted pose , and with all of their heads facing towards the Andes Mountains . Alongside the gruesome discovery , the archaeologists also find the corpse of a llama and ceramic , also thought to be call for in ritual natural action .
The temple , and the grisly remains found within , are thought to be around 1,200 geezerhood old , putting them a few hundred age before the emergence of the Inca . The archaeologists think that the website , and the ritual within , were performed by the Sicán refinement – also mention to as the Lambayeque – which lasted from around 750 to 1375 C.E. , deliver the goods the early Moche civilization from the same region , although there is some debate about the overlap between the two .
Earlier excavationsof Sicán synagogue and pyramids have found evidence of further mass sacrifice , though these burials were principally dominated by manly frame . In the ancient Huaca Las Ventanas pyramid , for example , archaeologists find almost one hundred bodies , bury au naturel and some missing their head .
While it seems that the Sicán engaged quite heavily in the ghastly ritual , the reasonableness behind the sacrificing is a petty harder to decipher , as there are no written record of their beliefs or usage . As they do n’t seem to have been a struggle people , warfare has been ruled out , and some researchers even paint a picture that the participants were unforced victim .
