An old form of wickedness research has led to the discovery of 140 children whose hearts were mercilessly dug out in a mass sacrifice in Peru.
Dozens of boys and girls, aged between five and 14, were killed in the largest known mass sacrifice of children in The Americas.
Many had their hearts removed as part of the grisly spiritual ceremony which happened at the height of the ancient Chimu civilisation in the 15th Century.
Researchers suspect major flooding and storms caused by an El Nino weather event could have sparked a panic to appease the gods with the systematic killing – which was also the largest known llama sacrifice in the world.
The children’s skeletal remains and those of more than 200 juvenile llamas found in a 7,500-square foot area were carbon dated to around 1450.
The study findings come after six years of excavation work at the site from 2011 to 2016.
Study author John Verano, Professor of anthropology at Tulane University, in Louisiana, US, said: “This site opens a new chapter on the practice of child sacrifice in the ancient world.