Archaeologists Unearth Circular Mass Grave of Wounded Individuals in Ancient Peruvian Tomb

At El Curaca, in the Atico River Valley, archaeologists Jósef Szykulski and associates have made a major finding: a huge, round stone tomb. It was found in October of 2024 that the Chuquibamba, or Aruni, people had lived at the site between the years 1000 and 1450 AD. Along with relics of pottery, bone, stone tools, maize cobs, and textiles, the tomb included twenty-four men, women, and children. The bones suggested that, given their linens, all of the dead were victims of injuries fit for combat scars.

The expensive grave goods buried with the bodies imply that the Aruni side prevailed in the war. Currently using 3D scanning to document the skulls, Szykulski and his team are conserving the fabrics discovered and examining the ceramics and wood objects taken from the tomb.

Ancient Battle-Scarred Tomb Uncovered in Peru Reveals Clues About Pre-Inca Conflict and Culture

Rising in the Atico River Valley of Peru, a large circular stone monument marks evidence of the historical struggle between the Chuquibamba, or Aruni people, as per a translated Facebook post. There are several Aruni relics scattered all around the monument. Living in what is now El Curaca, Aruni people lived between 1000 and 1450 A.D. Along with the bones of men, women, and children, archaeologists under Jósef Szykulski at the University of Wrocław uncovered textiles, pottery, bone, stone tools, and corn cobs.

Wearing textiles, the skeletons implied that all the dead were victims of traumas compatible with war wounds. The expensive grave goods buried with the bodies imply that the Aruni side prevailed in the war. Using 3D scanning, Szykulski and his colleagues are recording the skulls; they are also maintaining the linens and examining the ceramics and wood objects unearthed from the tomb.

Funded by the National Science Center of Poland, the study effort will better grasp the pre-Inca archeological cultures of the Atico River Valley using ancient DNA analysis.