Did These Children Have Their Hearts Ripped Out as a Sacrifice to an Ancient Rain God?

Construction workers in northern Peru recently uncovered a grisly discovery: The skeletal remains of 47 ancient people, including those of at least 12 children who were likely sacrificed by the ancient Chimú culture about 1,500 years ago.

The children’s chest bones had cut marks on them, likely a sign of an attempt to break their ribs so that their hearts could be removed, archaeologist Víctor Campaña León, director of the Las Lomas Archaeological Rescue Project, told La República, a Peruvian newspaper.

After finding the bones, the workers — who were laying down drinking-water pipes in the beach town of Huanchaco — notified archaeologists. In the following excavation, the researchers unearthed 77 tombs and burials, as well as camelid bones (likely from vicuña or alpaca) and 115 vessels from the Chimú, Salinar and Virú cultures, La República reported. Read more.