Tulane anthropologist unveils new clues in mass child sacrifice

The killing of 140 children and 200 young llamas in Peru more than 500 years ago may have been a response to a disastrous weather pattern. Tulane anthropology professor John Verano presents for the first time the science behind the discovery in a recent article in PLOS ONE (Public Library of Science) He and Gabriel Prieto, an assistant professor of archaeology at the National University of Trujillo in Trujillo, Peru, led the excavation of The Huanchaquito-Las Llamas site, where the largest known sacrifice of its kind in the Americas took place.

“The article provides for the first time the raw data and analytical results for radiocarbon dating of the sacrifice, DNA analysis, and carbon and nitrogen stable isotopes as indicators of diet and possible geographic origins of the children,” Verano said. 

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