TRUJILLO, PERU—According to a Live Science report, the remains of 76 children and two adults have been discovered in a burial mound at the Chimú site of Pampa la Cruz, where multiple sacrificial sites have been uncovered, including the remains of an additional 76 sacrificed children discovered in 2022. The chests of each of the children at the newly excavated site had been cut open from the collarbone to the sternum, and their ribs had been forced open. The children were buried naked, but their clothing was placed near their bodies. Silver and copper squares that may have been sewn to the clothing were found with the burials, in addition to ear ornaments and Spondylus shells. Research team leader Gabriel Prieto of the University of Florida said that Spondylus shells could only be found to the north, in the territory of the Lambayeque, but were highly valued by the Chimú. Analysis of the 76 children’s remains unearthed in 2022 found that all of them had cranial modifications similar to that practiced by the Lambayeque. Prieto suggested that Lambayeque individuals may have been conquered by the Chimú and brought to Pampa la Cruz to build irrigation systems to water Chimú agricultural fields. The Lambayeque children, he said, may have been sacrificed under the direction of the central government in the Chimú capital city of Chan Chan when the work was completed. “The children’s burial in this mound was possibly an offering to energize the fields,” he explained. For more on the burials at Pampa la Cruz, go to "Peruvian Mass Sacrifice," one of ARCHAEOLOGY's Top 10 Discoveries of 2019.
