Mummified Child Discovered in Peru

News April 26, 2023

(Archaeology Department of San Marcos Major University)
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Peru Mummified Child
(Archaeology Department of San Marcos Major University)

CAJAMARQUILLA, PERU—Reuters reports that the mummy of an adolescent buried more than 1,000 years ago in an underground tomb has been uncovered on the outskirts of the Lima at the archaeological site of Cajamarquilla, one of the largest mudbrick cities from ancient Peru. According to archaeologist Yomira Huaman of the National Major University of San Marcos, the young person may have been a member of the Lima or later Yschma culture, who inhabited the region before the Inca Empire came to power. The child, along with another mummified individual who was found last year, as well as eight children and 12 adults uncovered previously, was likely sacrificed in a ritual event, although it is not clear whether all the sacrifices occurred at the same time. To read about the largest mudbrick city from ancient Peru, where hundreds of children were sacrificed, go to “Peru’s Great Urban Experiment.”

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