Archaeologists Examine The Remains Of 1,200-year-old Adults And Children In Cajamarquilla Peru

Cajamarquilla site in Peru. (Wikimedia Commons/Harley Calvert)

JAKARTA - Peruvian archaeologists have unearthed the remains of eight children and 12 adults who were apparently sacrificed some 800-1,200 years ago, they said Tuesday, during a major excavation at the pre-Inca Cajamarquilla complex east of Lima.

The remains lie outside the subterranean tomb, where a team from Peru's San Marcos University in November found an ancient mummy thought to be VIP tied with rope, in a fetal position.

Archaeologist Pieter Van Dalen said the bodies, several mummies and other skeletons, were wrapped in various layers of textiles as part of an ancient pre-Hispanic ritual, and may have been sacrificed to accompany the main mummy.

"For them, death is not the end, but rather a transition to a parallel world where the dead live," Van Dalen told a news conference.

"They think that the souls of the dead are the protectors of the living," Van Dalen continued.

Van Dalen further said the burial pattern was familiar, citing the tomb of the Lord of Sipán, a ruler from 1,700 years ago found along with the children and adults who were sacrificed to be buried with him.

"This is what we thought and proposed in the case of the mummy in Cajamarquilla, which will be buried with these people. As part of the ritual, evidence of violence has been found in several individuals," he explained.

Meanwhile, Yomira Huamán, part of the team said, along with the burial items there were musical artifacts such as the "zampoña", a wind instrument from the Andes with several wooden tubes in the shape of a flute.

"Our investigations show the Cajamarquilla mummy is a man around 35 years old. This character has no organs, meaning he was expelled after death," he said.

To note, Peru is home to hundreds of cultural archaeological sites that developed before and after the Inca Empire, which 500 years ago dominated the southern part of the continent, from southern Ecuador and Colombia to central Chile.

"This complex is only 1 percent excavated. I think Cajamarquilla has a lot more to say, a lot more to tell us," said Huaman.