The discovery of the remains of "at least six women" at an ancient Peruvian ceremonial site has led archaeologists to surmise that a sacrificial ceremony took place there some 1,000 years ago, The Jerusalem Post reports. All six of the young women's skulls unearthed at the site in Lambayeque, a town 465 miles north of Lima, were found facing east. The eastward placement of the skulls could indicate that the women were part of the Cajamarca culture from countries north of the town.
"We have found six young women sacrifices in this space, in this small space which is part of the temple," archaeologist Edgar Bracamonte said. "Four of them were left in one mass grave one on top of the other. Another was in the corner of the main ramp and the sixth woman was found here in a strange position for the time and this shows us sacredness of the temple."
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
-
Child-free train carriages: has push for adults-only spaces gone too far?Talking Point Under-12s ban on premium commuter train carriages in France sparks backlash across the political divide
-
The best family board gamesThe Week Recommends Put down the smartphones and settle in for some old fashioned fun
-
Dive right into these 8 underwater adventuresThe Week Recommends It’s time to make a splash
-
Israel retrieves final hostage’s body from GazaSpeed Read The 24-year-old police officer was killed during the initial Hamas attack
-
China’s Xi targets top general in growing purgeSpeed Read Zhang Youxia is being investigated over ‘grave violations’ of the law
-
Panama and Canada are negotiating over a crucial copper mineIn the Spotlight Panama is set to make a final decision on the mine this summer
-
Why Greenland’s natural resources are nearly impossible to mineThe Explainer The country’s natural landscape makes the task extremely difficult
-
Iran cuts internet as protests escalateSpeed Reada Government buildings across the country have been set on fire
-
US nabs ‘shadow’ tanker claimed by RussiaSpeed Read The ship was one of two vessels seized by the US military
-
Maduro pleads not guilty in first US court hearingSpeed Read Deposed Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro and his wife Cilia Flores pleaded not guilty to cocaine trafficking and narco-terrorism conspiracy
-
Iran’s government rocked by protestsSpeed Read The death toll from protests sparked by the collapse of Iran’s currency has reached at least 19
