Skeletal Remains Of Over 140 Children In Largest Mass Child Sacrifice

The skeletal remains revealed cut open chests, likely so that their hearts could be easily removed.

In an exclusive with National Geographic , a team of international and interdisciplinary scientists have revealed what is likely the largest single incident of mass child sacrifice in world history. The skeletal remains of over 140 children, as well as 200 llamas, were uncovered in the north coast of Peru and date back to over 500 years ago, around 1450 A.D.

At the time, the pre-Columbian civilization called Chan Chan was the thriving capital of the Chimu Empire. It controlled a territory that stretched 600 miles along the Pacific coast and across what is currently the Peru-Ecuador border all the way to Lima. The only larger empire at the time was the Inca Empire, which put an end to t