Ancient mummies of children who were likely sacrificed found in Peru



Archaeologists discover Incan tomb in Peru
The mummified children were unearthed in the grave of a supposed nobleman, believed to have likely been "sacrificed to accompany the figure to the underworld".

The head of the dig said the mummies were about 1,000 to 1,200 years old. (AFP)

Six mummified children thought to have been sacrificed hundreds of years ago, apparently to accompany a dead nobleman to the afterlife, have been unearthed in a tomb near Lima, archaeologists reported.

The tiny skeletons, wrapped tightly in cloth, were found on Sunday in the grave of an important man, possibly a political figure, discovered last November at the dig site of Cajamarquilla about 24 kilometers (15 miles) east of Lima

"The children could be close relatives and were placed…in different parts of the entrance of the tomb of the (nobleman's) mummy, one on top of the other," archaeologist Pieter Van Dalen, in charge of the dig, said.

"The children, according to our working hypothesis, would have been sacrificed to accompany the mummy to the underworld," says Van Dalen.

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

READ MORE: Sleep well, oh king: pharaoh remains undisturbed by CT scan technology

The pre-Inca period

Cajamarquilla was a city built out of mud in about 200 BC, in the pre-Inca period and occupied until about 1500.

It could have been home to 10,000-20,000 people.

Nearby the dig site of Cajamarquilla, the team also found the bones of seven adults who had not been mummified as well as the remains of llama-like animals and earthen ware.

The remains of the supposed nobleman were found last year in a tomb some three meters (9.8 feet) long and 1.4 meters deep in Cajamarquilla, one of the largest archaeological complexes near Lima.

He had been about 20 when he died and was entombed with his hands covering his face and tied up with rope.

READ MORE: Mummies in Anatolia: Expect the unexpected