80:
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540:, sacrificed approximately 500 years earlier, including a 15-year-old girl, nicknamed "La doncella" (the maiden), a seven-year-old boy, and a six-year-old girl, nicknamed "La niña del rayo" (the lightning girl). The latter's nickname reflects the fact that sometime during the 500 years on the summit, the preserved body was struck by lightning, partially burning it and some of the ceremonial artifacts. The three mummies are exhibited in rotating fashion at the Museum of High Altitude Archaeology, specially built for them in Salta, Argentina.
72:
226:
529:. Two more ice-preserved mummies, one girl (age 6) and one boy (age 8), were discovered nearby a short while later. All showed signs of alcohol and coca leaves in their system, making them fall asleep, only to be frozen to death. The boy was the only one who showed signs of resistance, due to his hands and feet being tied up. It is also speculated that he might have died from suffocation, as vomit and blood were found on his clothing.
280:. In every case, the 42 children, mostly males aged around six, were suffering from serious cavities, abscesses or bone infections that would have been painful enough to make them cry continually. Tlaloc required the tears of the young so their tears would wet the earth. As a result, if children did not cry, the priests would sometimes tear off the children's nails before the ritual sacrifice.
20:
476:(emperor) or during a famine. Children were selected as sacrificial victims as they were considered to be the purest of beings. These children were also physically perfect and healthy, because they were the best the people could present to their gods. The victims may be as young as 6 and as old as 15.
421:
The ChimĂș, who occupied northern Peru before the Incas, and who were ultimately conquered by the Incas a few decades before the
Spanish arrival, carried out what has been claimed as the largest single example of mass child sacrifice at Huanchaco, where their chief city of Chan Chan was located.
305:, the remains of a three-to-four-year-old boy were found. The skull was broken and the bones had an orange/yellowish cast, a vitreous texture, and porous and compacted tissue. Aztecs have been known to boil down remains of some sacrificed victims to remove the flesh and place the skull in the
494:
leaves were fed to them to aid them in their breathing so as to allow them to reach the burial site alive. Upon reaching the burial site, the children were given an intoxicating drink to minimize pain, fear, and resistance. They were then killed either by
187:
culture. As early as 1906, Leopoldo Batres uncovered burials of children at the four corners of the
Pyramid of the Sun. Archaeologists have found newborn skeletons associated with altars, leading some to suspect "deliberate death by infant sacrifice".
422:
Researchers have identified at least 227 individuals as sacrificial victims, and it is believed that this mass sacrifice may have been carried out to appease deities who were supposedly bringing extreme rainfall weather conditions upon the ChimĂș.
430:
Human sacrifice pervades Moche culture through the use of funerary rituals providing guardians to high status individuals and the ritualistic battles that utilized defeated Moche warriors as sacrificial victims to a bloodletting ceremony.
599:, some 100 miles (150 km) to the north, also contained a mass grave with four headless male skeletons. The presence of the four bodies, whose heads were replaced with pots at burial, is not conclusive of ritualized sacrifice.
155:, the Maya performed child sacrifice in specific circumstances. For example, infant sacrifice would occur to satisfy supernatural beings who would have eaten the souls of more powerful people. In the
1156:
661:
322:
SahagĂșn confesses he was aghast by the fact that, during the first month of the year, the child sacrifices were approved by their own parents, who also ate their children.
211:"To try and explain why there are 24 bodies grouped in the same place, well, the only way is to think that there was a human sacrifice", archaeologist Luis Gamboa said.
1113:
1240:
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to meet the emperor where a feast was held in their honor. More than 100 precious ornaments were found to be buried with these children in the burial site.
490:
The Incan high priests took the children to high mountaintops for sacrifice. As the journey was extremely long and arduous, especially so for the younger,
959:
Bourget, Steve (2001). "Rituals of
Sacrifice: Its Practice at Huaca de la Luna and Its Representation in Moche Iconography". In Pillsbury, Joanne (ed.).
595:, contained the remains of "scores of clearly sacrificed female retainers" as well as four headless male skeletons. The roughly contemporaneous site of
513:
begun to find the bodies of these victims on Andean mountaintops, naturally mummified owing to the freezing temperatures and dry windy mountain air.
283:
389:
Archaeologists have uncovered physical evidence of child sacrifice at several pre-Columbian cultures in South
America. In an early example, the
1230:
196:
In 2007, archaeologists announced that they had analyzed the remains of 24 children, aged 5 to 15, found buried together with a figurine of
103:. These bones are associated with sacrificial offerings, particularly wooden busts. It is not known yet how the infants met their deaths.
559:
worshiped idols of stone and clay, built temples, and offered human sacrifices. Until colonial times, children were sacrificed secretly in
290:, claimed that one in five children of the Mexica subjects was killed annually. These high figures have not been confirmed by historians.
786:
Serrano
Sanchez, Carlos (1993). "Funerary Practices and Human Sacrifice in Teotihuacan Burials". Kathleen Berrin, Esther Pasztory, eds.,
1102:
Conrad, Lawrence (2000). ""The Middle
Mississippian Cultures of the Central Illinois Valley"". In Thomas Emerson and Barry Lewis (ed.).
700:, eds. Grove, D. C.; Joyce, R. A., Dumbarton Oaks Research Library and Collection, Washington, D.C., p. 225 - 254 (specifically p. 249).
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Months or even years before the sacrifice pilgrimage, the children were fattened up. Their diets were those of the elite, consisting of
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Altar 5 from La Venta. The inert were-jaguar baby held by the central figure is seen by some as an indication of child sacrifice.
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610:, which included the sacrifice of a young girl. Though the ritual continued, the sacrifice was discontinued in the 19th century.
220:
163:
that depict the extraction of children's hearts during the ascension to the throne of the new kings, or at the beginnings of the
397:
sacrificed teenagers en masse, as archaeologist Steve
Bourget found when he uncovered the bones of 42 male adolescents in 1995.
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649:
629:
127:
368:(from September 30 to October 19) children and two noble women were sacrificed by extraction of the heart and flaying; ritual
1103:
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268:, the Aztecs believed that, if sacrifices were not given to Tlaloc, the rain would not come and their crops would not grow.
372:
in honor of Tlåloc-Napatecuhtli, Matlalcueye, Xochitécatl, Mayåhuel, Milnåhuatl, Napatecuhtli, Chicomecóatl, Xochiquétzal.
359:(from April 3 to April 22) a maid, a boy and a girl were sacrificed to Cintéotl, Chicomecacóatl, Tlaloc and Quetzalcoatl.
277:
79:
472:, mainly using children. The Incas performed child sacrifices during or after important events, such as the death of the
882:
689:
619:
445:
849:
Talavera GonzĂĄlez, Jorge Arturo; Juan MartĂn Rojas ChĂĄvez (2003). "Evidencias de sacrificio humano en restos Ăłseos".
46:
cultures, is well documented both in the archaeological records and in written sources. The exact ideologies behind
1225:
168:
536:'s 6,739 m (22,110 ft) summit, an Argentine-Peruvian expedition found the perfectly preserved bodies of
381:(from November 29 to December 18) children and slaves were sacrificed by decapitation in honor of the Tlaloques.
43:
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1215:
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205:
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Reinhard, Johan (November 1999). "A 6,700 metros niños incas sacrificados quedaron congelados en el tiempo".
140:. The sacrifices were apparently performed for consecration purposes when building temples at the Comalcalco
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851:
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261:, and a very important part of their annual ritual included the sacrifice of infants and young children.
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499:, a blow to the head, or by leaving them to lose consciousness in the extreme cold and die of exposure.
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337:) children and captives were sacrificed to the water deities, Tlåloc, Chalchitlicue, and Ehécatl.
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934:"Archaeologists in Peru unearth 227 bodies in the biggest-ever discovery of child sacrifice"
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Some researchers have also associated infant sacrifice with Olmec ritual art showing limp "
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In contrast, its sides show bas-reliefs of humans holding quite lively were-jaguar babies.
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of the brain mass. Photographs of the skull have been published in specialized journals.
1051:"De los timoto-cuicas a la invisibilidad del indigena andino y a su diversidad cultural"
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cultures are unknown but it is often thought to have been performed to placate certain
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In 1995, the body of an almost entirely frozen young Inca girl (age 15), later named
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and animal proteins. They were dressed in fine clothing and jewelry and escorted to
309:. Archaeologists concluded that the skull was boiled and that it cracked due to the
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242:
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870:
Historia
General de las Cosas de la Nueva España, ed. a cargo de Ăngel Ma. Garibay
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In 2005 a mass grave of one- to two-year-old sacrificed children was found in the
96:
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civilization, full skeletons of newborn or unborn infants, as well as dismembered
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There are also skulls suggestive of child sacrifice dating to the Maya periods.
39:
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Evidencian sacrificios humanos en
Comalcaco: Hallan entierro de menores mayas
298:: "And they would take their children to kill and sacrifice to their Idols."
571:, who described the feasts and human sacrifices that were done in honour of
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19:
400:
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Cahokia and the
Hinterlands: Middle Mississippian Cultures of the Midwest
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Although there is no incontrovertible evidence of child sacrifice in the
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wrote about this practice but only recently have archaeologists such as
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588:
544:
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Scientific investigation suggests some child victims were drugged with
310:
208:, had been decapitated. The remains have been dated to AD 950 to 1150.
770:
Stuart, David (2003). "La ideologĂa del sacrificio entre los mayas".
273:
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201:
197:
908:
883:"Steve Bourget on Sacrifice, Violence, and Ideology Among the Moche"
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238:
224:
92:
88:
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70:
55:
1001:. Maam.culturasalta.gov.ar (2007-12-16). Retrieved on 2010-12-14.
731:
Mortuary Landscapes of the Classic Maya: Rituals of Body and Soul
1177:
991:"SecretarĂa de Cultura de Salta Argentina â Mission and Origins"
491:
465:
404:
Male figurine for Capa Cocha rituals, Inca, 1450â1540 CE, gold,
394:
253:
wrote about the religious practices devoted to the water gods,
100:
1033:"Inca mummies: Child sacrifice victims fed drugs and alcohol"
276:(and a few to EhecĂĄtl QuetzalcĂłatl) in the offerings of the
685:
OrtĂz C., Ponciano; RodrĂguez, MarĂa del Carmen (1999)
346:(from March 14 to April 2) children were sacrificed to
16:
Ritualistic killing of humans in pre-Colombian cultures
814:"Mexico finds bones suggesting Toltec child sacrifice"
167:
have been studied. In one of these cases, Stela 11 in
1178:
Instituto Nacional de Antropologia e Historia, Mexico
662:
List of Andean peaks with known pre-Columbian ascents
547:
and coca leaves during the time before their deaths.
200:. The children, found near the ancient ruins of the
1141:
Duverger, Christian (2005, original in French 1979)
1013:"Article and slide show on the Llullaillaco mummies"
963:. New Haven: Yale University Press. pp. 89â109.
687:"Olmec Ritual Behavior at El ManatĂ: A Sacred Space"
591:, directly across the Mississippi River from modern
838:. Fondo de cultura econĂłmica. pp. 128â29.
241:religion is one of the most widely documented
118:. Definitive answers await further findings.
1153:Historia general de las cosas de Nueva España
1143:La flor letal: EconomĂa del sacrificio azteca
8:
286:, an Aztec descendant and the author of the
1170:, April 1977, Vol. 86, No. 4, pages 46â51.
909:"Human Sacrifices at the Huaca de la Luna"
788:Teotihuacan, Art from the City of the Gods
698:Social Patterns in Pre-Classic Mesoamerica
229:TlĂĄloc, as shown in the late 16th century
961:Moche Art and Archaeology in Ancient Peru
183:There is evidence of child sacrifice in
18:
872:(MĂ©xico: Editorial PorrĂșa, 2006). p. 97
678:
333:(from February 2 to February 21 of the
794:, Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco,
110:" babies, most famously in La Venta's
23:Aztec burial of a sacrificed child at
1145:, Mexico: Fondo de Cultura EconĂłmica.
284:Fernando de Alva Cortés Ixtlilxochitl
7:
977:National Geographic, Spanish version
449:The maiden. Llullaillaco mummies in
1241:Mesoamerican mythology and religion
1011:Grady, Denise (11 September 2007).
938:Australian Broadcasting Corporation
95:and skulls, have been found at the
319:History of the Things of New Spain
14:
729:Scherer, Andrew K. (2015-01-01).
710:MarĂ, Carlos (27 December 2005).
575:, an Andean prehispanic goddess.
645:Human sacrifice in Aztec culture
221:Human sacrifice in Aztec culture
1164:"The Enigma of Aztec Sacrifice"
913:Las Huacas del Sol y de la Luna
650:Human sacrifice in Maya culture
630:Early infanticidal childrearing
350:, Tlaloc, Chalchitlicue, Tona.
294:describes such an event in his
128:Human sacrifice in Maya culture
1:
1174:Museo del Templo Mayor Online
733:. University of Texas Press.
278:Great Pyramid of Tenochtitlan
274:children sacrificed to Tlaloc
272:have found the remains of 42
1231:Aztec mythology and religion
834:Duverger, Christian (2005).
1196:Inca Mummies at Mummy Tombs
812:Monica Medel (April 2007).
620:Cannibalism in the Americas
1257:
438:
251:Book of the Gods and Rites
218:
125:
887:University of Texas Press
567:. This was chronicled by
36:in pre-Colombian cultures
1162:Harner, Michael, (1977)
151:believe that, like the
1180:, access May 26, 2008.
1149:de SahagĂșn, Bernardino
1114:University of Illinois
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1201:Inca Human sacrifices
866:Bernardino de SahagĂșn
608:Morning Star ceremony
585:Mississippian culture
551:Timoto-Cuicas culture
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266:Bernardino de SahagĂșn
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852:ArqueologĂa Mexicana
773:ArqueologĂa Mexicana
606:practiced an annual
525:, was discovered on
593:St. Louis, Missouri
569:Juan de Castellanos
557:TimotoâCuica people
538:three Inca children
288:Codex Ixtlilxochitl
179:Teotihuacan culture
1018:The New York Times
997:2012-03-16 at the
692:2007-02-21 at the
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335:Gregorian Calendar
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114:(to the right) or
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940:. August 29, 2019
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520:
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507:missionaries
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468:practice of
462:Qhapaq hucha
461:
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435:Inca culture
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388:
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370:cannibalism
365:Tepeilhuitl
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204:capital of
108:were-jaguar
62:Mesoamerica
1210:Categories
1155:, Mexico:
1134:2009-12-27
1096:References
944:August 29,
918:August 29,
893:August 29,
820:2007-04-17
311:ebullition
307:tzompantli
303:Xochimilco
245:cultures.
231:Codex Rios
138:Comalcalco
136:region of
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1076:issuu.com
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614:See also
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504:Spanish
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1054:(PDF)
753:JSTOR
673:Notes
485:Cusco
481:maize
391:Moche
239:Aztec
159:some
89:Olmec
1118:ISBN
946:2019
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