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Archaeologists have uncovered what may be the largest single mass child sacrifice event in human history.
More than 140 children were sacrificed at about the same time in Peru's northern coastal region, about 550 years ago.
The discovery was made near modern-day Trujillo, which lies near the centre of the ancient Chimú civilisation.
More than 200 young llamas were sacrificed alongside the children - all of which were killed in a single event.
The children are known to be victims of human sacrifice because of cut marks to the bones, including the sternum, the bone in the centre of the chest. Many ribs were also damaged - which may indicate the heart was removed.
In addition, many of the children were daubed with a bright red pigment made from cinnabar - most likely a part of the sacrificial ritual.
The llamas, which suffered the same fate, were all younger than 18 months and buried facing east towards the Andes mountains.
originally posted by: KansasGirl
a reply to: rickymouse
And the part about their bodies being painted bright red?
I also try to imagine what that scene would be like. I don't see how it could NOT have been chaos. I don't care what the kids were told- human nature and survival instincts are gonna kick in and that's a lot of kids to try to keep from escaping in a frenzy.
originally posted by: gort51
a reply to: rickymouse
Well said....
How do these experts "Know" it was a sacrifice?
They Don't, they are just guessing.
How do we know, that this may be a result of a tribal attack?
How do we know, that this is not a result of some sort of disease or infection or poisoning.
How do we know, that this same burial site was not used for months, or years, or decades.
Perhaps the young Llamas were revered, to carry the soul of the child to the beyond or something.
The red colour may be there way of sending off dead tribe members......red is the colour of death.
In Europe Black is the colour of death, in China, White is the colour of death.
Removing the heart was also use by some Human tribes as a way of conquest, they removed hearts of dead people and ate them.
To conclude a "sacrifice" is jumping the gun.....a modern perception of what it "Might' be.
originally posted by: Nyiah
a reply to: TinfoilTP
Pretty sure they didn't have the nice, neat tools coroners today use, so of course ribs were broken if extracting hearts was a necessary burial step, or even ritual one -- how the hell else were they supposed to get to it?
Just because it's different from what we do doesn't make it wrong, though. The Ancient Egyptians effectively eviscerated their dead, were they wrong to do so? The only difference between them and these people is no one's really sure just what happened.
Personally, I'd bet money on disease. The kids were mostly close in age, within just a few years of each other, that could be a very significant hint at a disease epidemic ravaging kids. Still is today, actually, certain age ranges of kids are MUCH more susceptible to some diseases than others (babies aside)
originally posted by: KansasGirl
a reply to: rickymouse
Good point on the frozen heads!
I am woh you on the archaeologists not knowing as much as they think they do, as far as conclusions they draw. There are so many cultures and their seeming practices from so long ago that archaeologists speak in absolutes about, when they should be saying "This is the theory we've come up with."
originally posted by: gort51
a reply to: rickymouse
Well said....
How do these experts "Know" it was a sacrifice?
They Don't, they are just guessing.
How do we know, that this may be a result of a tribal attack?
How do we know, that this is not a result of some sort of disease or infection or poisoning.
How do we know, that this same burial site was not used for months, or years, or decades.
Perhaps the young Llamas were revered, to carry the soul of the child to the beyond or something.
The red colour may be there way of sending off dead tribe members......red is the colour of death.
In Europe Black is the colour of death, in China, White is the colour of death.
Removing the heart was also use by some Human tribes as a way of conquest, they removed hearts of dead people and ate them.
To conclude a "sacrifice" is jumping the gun.....a modern perception of what it "Might' be.
How do these experts "Know" it was a sacrifice?