New Delhi: Six mummies of children, believed to have been sacrificed hundreds of years ago, have been unearthed in a tomb near Lima, the capital of Peru. They were apparently sacrificed to accompany a dead nobleman to the afterlife.


The tiny skeletons were discovered in the grave of an important man, who was possibly a political figure, news agency AFP reported. The skeletons were wrapped tightly in cloth. Last November, the grave was discovered at the Cajamarquilla archaeological site located about 24 kilometres east of Lima.



A mummy is seen at Cajamarquilla archeological site on February 13, 2022, where six mummies of children were found estimated to be between 800 and 1,200 years old has been unearthed (Photo: Guadalupe Pardo / AFP)


The Findings Of The Archaeologists 


Archaeologist Pieter Van Dalen, who is in charge of the Cajamarquilla project, said that the children could be close relatives and were placed in different parents at the entrance of the tomb, one on top of the other, according to the AFP report.



View at the Cajamarquilla archeological site, where a mummy estimated to be between 800 and 1,200 years old has been unearthed (Photo: Cris BOURONCLE / AFP)


 


Van Dalen further said that the children, according to the archaeologists' hypothesis, would have been sacrificed to accompany the mummy to the underworld.



An archaeologist working at the site (Photo: GUADALUPE PARDO / AFP)


 


Cajamarquilla, a city built out of mud in about 200 BC, in the pre-Inca period, could have been home to 10,000 to 20,000 people. The city was occupied until 1500.


The mummies were about 1,000 to 1,200 years old, Van Dalen said.



The mummies of the children were about 1,000 to 1,200 years old. (Photo: GUADALUPE PARDO / AFP)


ALSO READ: Jerusalem Elite Suffered From Infectious Disease 2,700 Yrs Ago — Stone Toilet Of First Temple-Era Villa Reveals


The archaeologists also found the bones of seven adults, the remains of llama-like animals, and earthenware, nearby. These adults had not been mummified, the AFP report said.



The archaeologists found earthenware nearby (Photo: GUADALUPE PARDO / AFP)


The tomb in which the remains of the supposed nobleman were found last year was some three metres (9.8 feet) long, and 1.4 metres deep.


The nobleman was entombed with his hands covering his face, and tied up with rope. He is thought to have been about 20 when he died.


 



The nobleman was entombed with his hands covering his face, and tied up with rope. He is thought to have been about 20 when he died. (Photo: Cris BOURONCLE / AFP)


In 2018, archaeologists in Peru found evidence of the biggest-ever sacrifice of children, according to media reports. They uncovered the remains of more than 140 youngsters who were slain alongside 200 llamas as part of a ritual offering around 550 years ago. 


The children were between the ages of five and 14, researchers determined. Most of the children were between eight and 12 when they died, and their bodies were buried facing west, out to the sea, National Geographic reported. 


Quoting John Verano, a physical anthropologist from Tulane University in New Orleans, the National Geographic report said that it is very ritual killing, and it is very systematic.