Tomb filled with skulls, bones of 24 battle victims discovered in Peru
Researchers carrying out excavation work in southern Peru found a tomb filled with the remains of two dozen people believed to be battle victims.
Archaeologists from the Institute of Archaeology at the University of Wrocław in Poland have been studying a settlement in the Atico River Valley, a geographical area along the Puru's southern coast, the university said in a translated post on social media. The settlement existed before Christopher Columbus arrived in the Americas, researchers said. Previous research has found the remains of Inca roads and some cave sites with rock paintings, researchers said, but little other work has been done in the region.
Archaeological work in a cemetery area led to the discovery of the circular tomb. The burial site had a stone inscription listing 24 names, including those of men, women and children.
The bones found inside the burial site were analyzed. The anthropological analyses confirmed that all 24 people in the tomb had "numerous damages," or battle injuries, "that are the direct cause of death."
There were also "grave gifts" found at the site, including pottery pieces identified as belonging to the Chuquibamba or Aruni people, a pre-Incan culture based around the Majes basin, south of the research site. The bodies were wrapped in textiles. Pieces of ceramic, stone and wood products were also found, as well as corn cobs.
The remains at the site were buried "in accordance with ritual," the researchers noted.
The research team said they believed the group was killed as a result of a conflict. The people who died were likely from the group that won the conflict, allowing for the elaborate burial, the researchers said.
Work at the site will continue through April.
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