1,400-year-old skeleton found in underground channel in Peru may have belonged to human sacrifice victim

Aerial image of a rock-lined channel in the earth with a human skeleton lying at the bottom.

Archaeologists have discovered a possible human sacrifice near the pyramid of Huaca Pucllana in the center of Lima, Peru. The skeleton may represent an offering connected to a ceremonial well that was closed up nearly 1,400 years ago.

Bones of an adult male were excavated from an underground water channel at the archaeological site earlier this year, according to an Aug. 18 translated statement from Peru's Ministry of Culture. The man was found resting on his left side, with his skull facing the ocean and the Huaca Pucllana pyramid, hinting he was intentionally placed that way.