Wari Burials Unearthed in Northern Peru

LIMA, PERU—According to an AFP report, the remains of 29 people have been discovered at Huaca Santa Rosa de Pucala, a ceremonial center built between A.D. 800 and 900 in northern Peru’s coastal region of Lambayeque. Twenty-five of the burials, dating from A.D. 100 to 700, belong to the Moche culture. These remains had been placed in clay tombs and burial chambers, along with pottery and the remains of llamas, alpacas, and guinea pigs. The remaining four burials contain the remains of three children and a teenager of the Wari culture, which flourished in the central Peruvian Andes between the seventh and thirteenth centuries. These four had been sacrificed, and their remains buried at the front of the temple. “These discoveries allow us to rethink the history of the Lambayeque region, especially the links to Wari and Mochica occupations in the area,” commented team leader archaeologist Edgar Bracamonte. To read about a Wari brewery in southern Peru, go to "Alcohol Through the Ages: Forging Wari Alliances."