In the past, some cultures performed ritual human sacrifices. Scientists in Peru found evidence of this in the discovery of several human skeletons buried in temples in the Andes mountain valley.
As quoted by us from Live Science, Wednesday (15/6/2022) local archaeologists found 29 human skeletons buried about a thousand years ago in the Huaca Santa Rosa de Pucala area, west of Peru.
In the findings, published in November 2021, there are four skeletons consisting of two children, one teenager and one adult, from the Wari culture. According to research director Edgar Bracamonte, the discovery of these four skeletons proves for the first time the ritual of human sacrifice in this civilization.
In addition to human remains, excavations also found the skeletons of animals such as llamas and guinea pigs that were also sacrificed. There is also a knife and a kind of bottle. Scientists concluded that the tomb was from the Wari civilization because its shape corresponds to their characteristic, which is like the letter D.
"This human sacrifice was probably part of a ritual at that time to start the construction of this Wari-style religious area," said Edgar.
The Wari culture itself flourished in the mountains and coast of Peru, from about 500 to 1000 AD. They produced good quality textiles and pottery, and built adequate roads.
Scientists are still groping about what their culture would look like, but religious rituals seem to play a very important role. Then women have a high position in their government.
The other 25 human skeletons found in the same area are from the Mochica culture, which lived from around 100 to 700 AD before being replaced by the Wari civilization. Both have their own distinct cultural characteristics that make it quite easy for scientists to distinguish between them.