Thursday, March 31, 2011
Human Sacrifice and Fertility Ritual in Peru
New discoveries are broadening our understanding of the sophisticated Lambayeque culture, also known as the Sicán, who were based along Peru's arid northern coast. Best known as skilled irrigation engineers, the Lambayeque culture flourished in the forbidding upland landscape until being conquered in A.D. 1375 by the Chimú. Evidence of ritual torture and human sacrifice, while grim, may help us understand the culture.
Frist, archaeological investigations at a major temple complex have revealed new secrets long hidden. At one temple, first excavated 30 years ago, frescos decorated with images associated with human sacrifice have just come to light (see video above).
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| The bodies of 30 female victims show evidence of ritual torture before sacrifice. |
Further excavations at a newly discovered temple complex have shed light on the early Lambayeque development. According to National Geographic:
“The discovery of the complex, excavated near the city of Chiclayo between 2006 and late 2009, has injected a dose of reality into the legend of Naylamp, the god who supposedly founded the pre-Inca Lambayeque civilization in the eighth century A.D., following the collapse of the Moche civilization.
That's because evidence at the Chotuna-Chornancap archaeological site indicates the temple complex may have belonged to people claiming to have descended from Naylamp—suggesting for the first time that these supposed descendants existed in the flesh.”
That's because evidence at the Chotuna-Chornancap archaeological site indicates the temple complex may have belonged to people claiming to have descended from Naylamp—suggesting for the first time that these supposed descendants existed in the flesh.”
Within the newfound temple complex is a pyramid-shaped tomb, called Huaca Norte, which was filled with the skeletons of 33 women. Two skeletons still have their original hair and some (top row) are mummified. All of them show cut marks, meaning they were likely tortured as part of human-sacrifice rituals. It has been suggested that as women are traditionally associated with fertility, they were offered in religious ceremonies intended to ensure fertility.
