Archaeologists discover grisly South American temple where bodies were 'defleshed'

Animal sacrifices may have been a common practice in ancient religious rituals, but archaeologists in Bolivia were surprised to discover human body parts at a religious complex.

The archaeologists believe the site was an ancient mortuary, since the bones had been boiled to remove the flesh. In a new study in the journal Antiquity, researchers explain that removing the flesh made ancestors easier to transport.

The bones were part of the archaeological site of Khonkho Wankane, which was active from 100 B.C.E. to 500 C.E., Ancient Origins reports. The archaeologists found a circular building at the site, and almost 1,000 teeth and bones were found on the building's floor. All of the bone fragments were coated with white plaster. And outside of the apparent mortuary, a stone pillar was carved with the image of "a human with defleshed ribs," according to USA Today.

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The archaeologists believe the site's inhabitants had a nomadic lifestyle, so they cleaned the bones of loved ones to carry with them until the mortuary was created at the Khonkho Wankane site. The site is also home to three temples and a number of sandstone monoliths with depictions of deities and anthropomorphic figures.