The most brutal sacrifice: the Inca ancestors cruelly killed dozens of children to ensure a bountiful harvest.

Archaeologists have uncovered a 700-year-old burial mound in Peru, containing the remains of 76 children and 2 adults who were sacrificed, reports LiveScience.

The discovered mound is one of several sacrifice sites found near the coastal city of Trujillo in northwestern Peru. All these sites are linked to the prominent Chimu civilization, which thrived in the region from the 12th to the 15th centuries. The Chimu were known to have preceded the Incas and were celebrated for their art and textiles.

In the recently uncovered mound, the children were buried naked, with their clothing placed nearby. The children's chests were cut open from the collarbone to the sternum, and their ribs were spread apart, possibly to access the heart.

The mound, measuring 60 by 20 meters, also contained silver and copper pendants, which may have been sewn onto the children's clothing. Among the remains, archaeologists found earrings as well as Spondylus shells.

"For these people, Spondylus shells were more valuable than gold and gemstones," says Gabriel Prieto, an assistant professor of anthropology at the University of Florida who is leading the excavations.

Further analysis revealed that the children's skulls had been modified. The pliable skulls of infants were elongated using boards or tight head wraps. This same practice was employed by the Lambayeque civilization, which was neighboring the Chimu and was later conquered by them.

A group of researchers conducted isotope analysis that indicated the children's diet during their lifetime corresponded to that of the Lambayeque region.

Experts believe that the children and their families may have been captured by the Chimu and brought to Pampa la Cruz for the construction of irrigation systems.

The Chimu expanded their agriculture into areas where the soil was not particularly fertile, thus requiring the construction of irrigation systems. After these channels were completed, the children were sacrificed to bless the land.

"The burial of children in the mound was likely an offering to energize the fields and make them fertile," emphasizes Prieto.

It is evident that the sacrificed children were not descendants of the Chimu. Thus, archaeologists have found evidence for the first time that the Chimu sacrificed non-locals.

"These were not just townspeople sacrificing their own children. It seems this process was controlled by the central authority of the Chimu," concluded the study's authors.

Recall that scientists confirmed the chilling legend of an African king. According to the legend, some structures in the palace of King Gezo, who ruled the Kingdom of Dahomey in the 19th century, were built with the addition of human blood.