During the excavations, which started last October, eight houses and 19 graves were discovered. “In total, we found eight houses and 19 graves. Among them, one child burial is worth noting. Probably, the child in this case was mummified, "- said the members of the expedition, writes El Commercial
Some of the graves were inside the huts. Scientists cannot yet explain such an unusual burial ritual, although they suggest that burials could have been made after the inhabitants left their homes.
Archaeologists have also discovered a number of artifacts, including bracelets and necklaces made from shells, bones of various animals and even from the antlers of a deer, which confirms the earlier conclusions that the climate of this region before our era was significantly different from the present: today Nazca is a desolate lifeless plateau …
Although some artifacts were found along with the buried bodies, scientists have not been able to obtain direct evidence that they were posthumous offerings to the deceased or to deities.
The finds were made as part of the Nazca-Palpa project in the Pernil Alto sector, 15 km south of Palpa. The aim of the project is to study the history of the plateau, famous for its mysterious mysterious rock carvings. Later, one of the centers of the Inca civilization was located here. For these reasons, this region is of particular interest to scientists. The discovery of an ancient settlement in this area may also shed light on the history of human settlement in South America, researchers say.
Nazca petroglyphs
The heyday of a peculiar archaeological culture in the region fell on the interval between 300 BC and 800 AD. e. It was they who created the famous Nazca lines, the ceremonial city of Cahuachi, and the impressive system of underground aqueducts that still function today.
The Nazca lines are stripes of furrows 20 cm deep, which form the figures of the animal, plant and underwater world, sometimes reaching almost 500 m in length (hummingbird, monkey, fish, etc.).