Sara Juengst / UNC Charlotte
The grave included the body of a pregnant woman with her hands and leg removed, as well as several rare and valuable offerings.
Ecuador archaeologists discovered a cemetery of about 1200 years ago remains of a pregnant woman and his fetus, which leads investigators to believe that he may have been sacrificed. Found on the Success Site, the grave dates from the Mainaño period (650-1532), known for its complex bosses and coastal trade networks.
The young woman, aged 17 and 20, was pregnant from seven to nine months when her death, and presented Signs of trauma. A blow to the skull was the cause of his death and his hands and left leg were violently removed.
The grave also contained a burnt offering and someone else’s skull near your shoulder, suggesting ritualistic elements. Radiocarbon dating suggests that the offering was made centuries after his death between 991 and 1025.
The funeral included rare and valuable artifacts: Spondylus shell ornaments, berling shells in the eye orbits, three obsidian blades and a crab clash in the abdomen. Spondylus shells, associated with fertility and water, were especially appreciated in South American cultures. These artifacts suggest reverence, despite the violent circumstances of their death.
Bioarqueologist Sara Juengst, co -author of the discovery published in Latin American Antiquity, said the contradictory nature of the funeral. While the woman’s violent death was “dehumanizing,” the rich offerings indicated their importance. Juengst noted that this duality could point to its significant social or political power.
The investigators proposed two potential scenarios for the funeral. The first relates his death to the agricultural crises induced by El Niño during his time. Their pregnancy and associations with fertility may have made it a sacrificial offering intended for ensure better harvests.
Alternatively, your burial could reflect political reasons. In the headline society, it was thought that women had a considerable power. If the woman were a rival, her death could have been orchestrated to eliminate her influence and at the same time honor her status, explains the.
The discovery opens new ways for understanding society to maintain, particularly its environmental and social dynamics.
