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The site was less than a kilometer — about a 15-minute walk — from the ancient Chimu metropolis of Chan Chan, the largest city in pre-Colombian South America. That the Chimu sacrificed children here, and in such numbers, came as a surprise to researchers. Archaeologists knew the Inca people, who conquered the Chimu at the end of the 15th century, killed children in mountaintop rituals. But before this research, no similar accounts existed for the Chimu.

“It is an unknown chapter that we can add to the big book on ancient sacrifice in world societies,” said John Verano, an archaeologist at Tulane University, who, with Prieto and their colleagues, is an author of a PLOS One study published Wednesday. The sacrificial site, covering 7,500 square feet, is named Huanchaquito-Las Llamas for a nearby coastal town and the llamas.

It is disturbing and disquieting to see the sacrifice of children on any scale

Prieto and his colleagues excavated the site between 2011 and 2016. Boys and girls were killed, the scientists say, citing anatomical details and DNA extracted from teeth. The study authors estimate that the children were between 5 and 14 years old. Radiocarbon dating placed the mass sacrifice around the year 1450.

Many world religions refer to child sacrifice, Verano said, such as the binding of Isaac in the Bible. But archaeological evidence is rare, and attributing sacrifice as the cause of death for human remains is often difficult. Not so in this case.

“What we’ve got is no ambiguity at all — all of these kids have their chests cut open,” Verano said. Horizontal marks, similar to incisions made in some thoracic surgeries, cut across their chests. This was probably a way to remove the children’s hearts.