Archeologists in Peru unearth human sacrifices

CAHUACHI, Peru (Reuters) - Three teams of archeologists in Peru have in the past week uncovered remains of human sacrifices carried out by ancient civilizations, including the skeleton of a pregnant woman.

At the Cahuachi site in southern Peru, Giuseppe Orefici, director of the Italian center for pre-Colombian research, found two bodies along with textiles and ceramics.

Cahuachi was part of the Nazca civilization, which flourished in Peru between AD 300 and 800 whose members carved massive lines depicting birds and animals in the Peruvian desert that are best viewed from the air.

"A human sacrifice is very important," said Giuseppe Orefici, an archeologist who has spent decades excavating Cahuachi. "Human sacrifices added to the value of the offering," he said while standing next to a central pyramid that rises from the flat desert.

Archeologists from several countries are currently working in Peru which has hundreds of ancient sites dating back thousands of years and spanning dozens of cultures.

Researchers have previously found evidence of pre-Hispanic human sacrifices in Peru, but three major discoveries in the same week is unusual.

In eastern Peru at the Incan fortress of Sacsayhuaman near Cuzco, archeologists working for the National Institute of Culture unearthed eight tombs and more than 20 skeletons, likely the remains of ritually sacrifices. Cuzco was the capital of the Incan empire that ruled from 1200 until Spanish conquerors arrived in 1532.

Archeologist Carlos Wester La Torre, director of the Bruning Museum in northern Peru, discovered the remains of 10 women, including one who was pregnant. They were apparently sacrificed in a religious rite at the Chotuna Chornancap site near the city of Lambayeque.

The Lambayeque civilization thrived in Peru for some 500 years, starting around AD 800. Archeologists believe pregnant women were rarely sacrificed because fertility was highly valued in this culture.

"It's a very irregular case," said Wester La Torre, whose team also unearthed llama remains and a mural cut into an underground wall. The archeologist said that may be just the beginning of the discoveries he hopes to make at the site.

One problem facing archeologists are the looters who plunder sites. The country has struggled for years to combat trafficking of its ancient artifacts.