33 Incan Sacrifice Victims Found

It's not unusual for archaeologists exploring ancient ruins in the Americas to find human sacrifice victims.

In a 2,000-year-old burial vault near Mexico City, researchers in 2004 found the remains of 12 people, all apparently sacrificed. Ten of them were decapitated. Incan children were fattened up prior to their sacrificial deaths, scientists learned in 2007.

But the new discovery in northern Peru of 33 sacrificial victims in one place is exceptional in its own way. The ancients, from about 600 years ago, had signs of being cut on their necks and collarbones but otherwise seemed in good condition. Most were girls about 15 years old. Archeologists called the quantity of bodies unusual.

Violence was not limited to sacrifices for the gods in ancient times. Displays of political and financial power were also reasons to disfigure. Digging around in 2,000-year-old sites in Peru, scientists in 2007 found squashed heads and bodies buried with other people's limbs — all signs that the dominant classes were intimidating poorer communities, researchers said.