A Forgotten Civilization in Peru Buried Its War Dead Like Heroes and Now We're Finally Learning Who They Were

Battle-wounded skeletons and ancient textiles offer new clues about the lesser-known Chuquibamba.

byTudor Tarita April 25, 2025
Reading Time: 5 mins read

In a dry, sunburned valley along Peru’s southern coast, archaeologists have unearthed the remains of 24 people—men, women, and children—whose bones bear the unmistakable signs of war. However, their final resting place was a carefully arranged tomb, where each body was wrapped in cloth and laid to rest with offerings.

This mass grave, recently uncovered in the Atico River Valley by a Polish-led expedition, is forcing researchers to reconsider the story of a little-known South American civilization called the Chuquibamba—or Aruni.

Buried as Heroes
The burial site lies within the El Curaca archaeological zone, a stone’s throw from the Pacific Ocean. It is here that Professor Józef Szykulski and his team from the University of Wrocław began excavations in October 2024. What they found stunned even seasoned researchers.

Inside a large, circular stone tomb were the skeletons of 24 individuals, carefully bundled in woven textiles. Scattered among them were grave goods: corn cobs, ceramic shards, bone tools, and fragments of carved wood. Most haunting of all, though, were the marks on the bones.

“All of the people died due to injuries consistent with battle wounds,” the team wrote in a translated statement posted on Facebook.

The presence of such rich burial offerings—especially in a collective tomb—suggests these were not just casualties, but honored dead. Szykulski believes they died in a battle that their people won.

More:
https://www.zmescience.com/science/news-science/a-forgotten-civilization-in-peru-buried-its-war-dead-like-heroes-and-now-were-finally-learning-who-they-were/