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🇵🇾 Paraguay /Culture & Society

Archaeologists uncover 38 undisturbed tombs at Chan Chan, Peru’s great pre-Inca city

From ABC Color · () Spanish

Translated from Spanish and summarized by DistantNews. Read the original for the full story.

At a glance

Newswire Official statement Ongoing story
  • Archaeologists found the remains of about 38 people buried more than 600 years ago at Chan Chan, the former capital of the Chimú kingdom.
  • The tombs contained elite individuals, ceremonial goods, weapons, metal emblems and 60 ceramic pieces showing Inca influence.
  • Researchers said an unusually extended burial may point to a sacrificial ritual or a difference in status.

An archaeological team has uncovered 38 undisturbed burials at Chan Chan, offering researchers a rare chance to study Chimú individuals and objects that escaped looting for more than 600 years.

The tombs lie within Utzh An, the largest walled compound in the Chan Chan complex, once the capital of the pre-Inca Chimú kingdom. In the main chamber, archaeologists found the remains of a member of the Chimú nobility accompanied by shell and metal pieces. The two side chambers contained weapons and metal emblems, along with more than 20 individuals. Another 18 burials found on the same funerary platform brought the total to 38.

The skeletal remains belonged to distinguished members of the Chimú elite. Fine ornaments and ceremonial goods, including applications of cinnabar, a sacred pigment, lay on and around the skeletons. Some individuals had red pigmentation on their heads, and many ceramic objects also carried the color. The source said Andean societies used this sacred red pigment exclusively in high-status burials.

what we knew came from looted platforms

· Jorge MenesesThe archaeologist contrasted earlier evidence with the newly protected burials.

One burial stood out from the known Chimú pattern. The body had been placed fully extended at the bottom of one chamber, unlike the flexed or seated-flexed positions typical of Chimú burials. Archaeologists said the unusual arrangement could indicate a sacrificial ritual or a difference in hierarchy.

The team also recovered 60 ceramic pieces, including stirrup-spout bottles and vessels with clear stylistic Inca influence. The finds could confirm interaction between the Chimú kingdom and the Inca Empire, including the Chimú kingdom’s annexation. Jorge Meneses, the project’s director, said previous knowledge came mainly from looted platforms. “Today we have the historic opportunity to study individuals and artifacts intact after 600 years,” he said. Work at Utzh An was 79% complete as of July, according to the Culture Ministry.

Today we have the historic opportunity to study individuals and artifacts intact after 600 years

· Jorge MenesesHe described the importance of examining undisturbed remains and objects.
About this summary

Originally published by ABC Color in Spanish. Translated, summarized, and contextualized automatically by DistantNews, with a note on how the source frames the story. Not individually reviewed before publishing. How this works.

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