MASS SACRIFICE

Archeologists Find Remains of 227 Sacrificed Children in Peru

The children were reportedly sacrificed by the pre-Columbian Chimu people.

Archaeologists in Peru have uncovered the largest-ever discovery of sacrificed children, with 227 bodies found buried at a single sacrificial site said to be used by the pre-Columbian Chimu culture. According to Agence France-Presse, the archaeologists have been digging at the site in Huanchaco since last year. Archeologist Feren Castillo said bodies of children aged four to 14 were found at the site, some with skin and hair. “It's uncontrollable, this thing with the children. Wherever you dig, there's another one,” he said. The children were killed in order to honor the Chimu culture's gods and to “appease the El Nino phenomenon,” according to Castillo. The Chimu civilization extended along the Peruvian coast between the 13th and 15th centuries, before it disappeared in 1475 after being conquered by the Inca empire.