PALEONTHOLOGICAL ANALYSIS OF SACRIFICIAL VICTIMS AT THE PYRAMID OF THE MOON, MOCHE RIVER VALLEY, NORTHERN PERU

Abstract

In 1995-6, excavations directed by Steve Bourget of the University of East Anglia recovered the skeletal remains of more than 60 adolescent and young adult males who were sacrificed around A.D. 500 at the Pyramid of the Moon in the Moche River Valley, northern coastal Peru. This paper presents data from an ongoing analysis of the skeletal remains, including information on the physical and demographic characteristics of the victims, evidence of healed and perimortem trauma, and taphonomic indicators. Of particular interest are numerous examples of injuries in the process of healing at the time of death, as well as evidence of mutilation, dismemberment, and defleshing of some of the victims. Observed patterns in antemortem and perimortem injuries are used to interpret the events that produced this deposit