18 September 2025 The Future is the Product of the Past

The human remains of 29 people buried as offerings in a pre-Inca temple were found at the Huaca Santa Rosa de Pucalá excavation site

The human remains of 29 people buried as sacrificial offerings have been discovered in a pre-Inca temple in northern Peru.

These remains could help experts rewrite pre-Inca Wari history, the lead researcher said Friday.

Researchers discovered four graves containing the bones of toddlers and teens at the Huaca Santa Rosa de Pucalá excavation site in Peru’s Lambayeque area.

It is the first time a discovery linked to the Wari civilization has been made this far from their area of influence, Edgar Bracamonte, the lead researcher, told AFP

“These discoveries allow us to rethink the history of the Lambayeque region, especially the links to Wari and Mochica occupations in the area,” said Bracamonte.

As well as the human remains, the team discovered camelids and guinea pigs showing signs of sacrificial practices.

They were originally buried as offerings at the time of the construction of the first of the three enclosures, according to the team behind the discovery from the Lambayeque Valley Archaeological Project
The remains of humans and animals are part of a possible ritual that was carried out at the time of starting construction on Wari-style religious spaces, researchers said.

It is the first time scientists have recorded this form of human offering associated with the Wari civilization, a civilization that lived between 500 and 1000 CE in the south-central Andes and coastal area of modern-day Peru. So far three of the enclosures discovered at the site have been excavated.

Researchers believe that the bones of humans and animals were part of a probable ceremony performed at the time of the start of building on Wari-style holy facilities.

A ceremonial temple was also unearthed during the excavation.

Lambayeque-Valley-Peru
They were originally buried as offerings at the time of the construction of the first of the three enclosures, according to the team behind the discovery from the Lambayeque Valley Archaeological Project.

Bracamonte said: ‘It is a temple built with walls made of clay as formwork and that include clay maces as prototypes of adobes inside the walls. The upper part of the temple presents very well elaborated floors, ceilings of vegetal remains, and evidence of the incineration of objects were found.’

Bracamonte said the temple was built by a group of people with local characteristics, showing that during the years 400 to 200 BCE.

These fresh findings have increased the number of Wari-period ritual places, compelling experts to reinterpret Lambayeque’s past.

Related Articles

A new Indo-European Language discovered in the Hittite capital Hattusa

21 September 2023

21 September 2023

The Çorum Provincial Directorate of Culture and Tourism announced in a written statement that a new Indo-European language was discovered...

Archaeologists unearth the Torah Ark of the Great Synagogue of Vilna, destroyed in Lithuania

30 August 2021

30 August 2021

In Vilnius, the capital of Lithuania, in excavation exposed the Torah ark and bimah (raised prayer platform) of the Great...

Remains of 2 houses belonging to the founding period of the city were unearthed in the ancient city of Hierapolis

5 November 2021

5 November 2021

During this year’s excavations in the ancient city of Hierapolis-Pamukkale in Turkey’s Aegean province Denizli, the remains of two houses...

Archaeologists Discovered a Fragmentary Inscription in Cypriot Syllabary Found Dating to the Cypro-Archaic Period

1 December 2024

1 December 2024

During excavations at Palaepaphos, located within the municipal boundaries of the modern village of Kouklia-Martsello on the southwest coast of...

1-meter tall bronze statue found in China’s Sanxingdui Ruins-Video

17 June 2022

17 June 2022

Chinese archaeologists have discovered a 1-meter tall bronze statue at the site of ancient Sanxingdui ruins site in southwest China’s...

Newly Found 2,600-Year-Old Seal Could Be From a Royal Official in King Josiah’s Time

6 August 2025

6 August 2025

Newly discovered clay seal may connect to a high-ranking official from King Josiah’s court, offering a rare, tangible link to...

The Oldest “Book” of Europe: Derveni Papyrus

4 September 2022

4 September 2022

The Derveni papyrus is considered Europe’s oldest legible manuscript still in existence today. It is an ancient Greek papyrus roll...

2,000-Year-Old Graves Found in Kyrgyzstan Reveal Hidden Chapter of Silk Road History

12 August 2025

12 August 2025

Archaeologists have discovered graves dating back approximately 2,000 years in the village of Kyzyl-Koshun-1, located in the Batken district of...

Egypt dig unearths 41 mln-year-old Whale in desert -Tutcetus rayanensis-

12 August 2023

12 August 2023

Paleontologists in Egypt announced the discovery of a new species of extinct whale that inhabited the sea covering present-day Egypt...

Researchers find the earliest record of aurora in old Chinese documents

15 April 2022

15 April 2022

Researchers have found the oldest known reference to a candidate aurora in a celestial event, described in an ancient Chinese...

Mysterious Mongolian Arc in Eastern Mongolia Studied for the First Time

30 December 2023

30 December 2023

Researchers have studied the 405-km wall system in eastern Mongolia known as the Mongolian Arc to learn more about its...

A cave painting found in Egyptian Sahara depicts a nativity scene 3,000 years before Jesus’ Birth

21 December 2023

21 December 2023

5,000-year-old rock art depicting the oldest nativity scene ever found has been found in Egypt’s Sahara Desert: A newborn between...

Digs at Turkey’s Seyitömer mound reveals thousands of artworks

20 March 2022

20 March 2022

Approximately 14,500 artifacts have been unearthed during rescue excavations carried out over 33 years at Seyitömer Mound in Turkey’s western...

Rare gladiator tombs were discovered in the Ancient City of Anavarza in southern Türkiye

10 August 2022

10 August 2022

Archaeologists have discovered rare gladiator tombs in the ancient city of Anavarza, known as the “Invincible city” in history, which...

Newly Discovered 200,000-Year-Old Rock Carvings in Marbella: Potentially Among Europe’s Oldest Cave Art

14 March 2025

14 March 2025

Marbella has just made an incredible discovery that could change everything we thought we knew about prehistoric Europe. Archaeologists working...