Child Sacrifice Ritual: Remains of 76 Victims with their Hearts Removed Found in Peru

Child sacrifice victims were found at ongoing excavations near Huanchaco, Peru, and more are likely to be unearthed.

This comes after dozens of remains of children with their hearts ripped off were found recently at an excavation site in the area.

Archaeologists involved in the excavation believed the remains were part of a child sacrifice ritual that took place in the South American country several centuries ago.

For hundreds or thousands of years, child sacrifice and other related activities are common in the ancient world.

Previous research suggested that these sacrifices are part of ancient civilization's culture and tradition, wherein most are religious by nature with the purposes of appeasing their gods.

In Peru, these practices have transcended different civilizations and archaeologists frequently find children remains.

Child Sacrifice Victims

(Photo : Jose Castañares/AFP via Getty Images)

A total of 76 children skeletons were dug up and evidence shows that the children's hearts were intentionally removed, according to Gabriel Prieto, an assistant professor of anthropology at the University of Florida.

Prieto spearheads the excavations at Pampa La Cruz, the site near Huanchaco where the remains were found, as cited by Live Science.

The University of Florida assistant professor said all of the 76 skeletons had a clean cut, which suggests that they possibly opened up their rib cage and possibly extracted the heart.

The evidence also showed that the skeletons were buried on an extended position, with their feet facing east, Prieto told Live Science through email.

In addition, the remains were buried above an artificial mound, and it is not clear why the sacrifices were located in such position and place.

The archaeological team thought the area, particularly the mound, was free of Chimu child sacrifices but it turned out to be the opposite, Prieto added.

Also Read: Ritual Human Sacrifices Helped Build Up Social Classes, New Study Reveals

Peru Child Sacrifices

In recent years, archaeologists have found multiple sites in Peru containing the remains or skeletons of sacrificed children.

In April, Nature World News covered the discovery of buried Inca children, dating back 500 years ago, who were killed as part of sacrificial rites during the time of the Inca Empire in what is now modern-day Peru.

Upon examination, the children's remains contain hallucinogenic plants like cocaine and ayahuasca, which were used as a ritual drug.

The discovery was published in the Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports.

In April 2018, similar excavations of children were found in Peru, but this time, archaeologists found a site of ancient mass child sacrifice involving over 140 children killed in a single event in Peru 550 years ago.

Based on the numbers alone, archaeologists at that time told the National Geographic the evidence presented could show it is the largest, single event mass child sacrifice in the Americas and likely across the world.

Although incidents of human sacrifice during the reign of the Aztec, Maya, and Inca empires have been documented in the past, the discovery of large-scale child sacrifice during the little-known pre-Columbian Chimu civilization is not common in the Americas or perhaps in the entire world.