In recent news by EL PAIS, a team of Spanish scientist and researchers led by the writer and explorer Miguel Gutiérrez Garitano have just returned to Vitoria and shocked of their discovery of an Inca sanctuary in the mountains of Vilcabamba in Peru, 150 kilometers above the northeastern city of Cusco.
The site includes at least 55 sites in the highest mountain in the area, in a place where they could only be found by satellite imaging. The ruins, unknown to science until now and discovered through an investigation that included remote sensing techniques, may be from the Inca kingdom of Vilcabamba.
Bone remains found in the tombs discovered by the team. / RAFA GUTIÉRREZ
The evidence collected may show proof of the existence of the ritual Capacocha, or human sacrifices, in the high mountain area, which – according to experts – would be a revolutionary discovery.
Experts say that the Inca carried out important rituals on this mountain, one of the main holy sites during the Neo-Inca kingdom in Vilcabamba, though it may have been built before. These ceremonies may have included human sacrifices, or Capacocha. “Usually this type of ritual — where they mainly sacrificed virginal maidens but not necessarily only those – was performed to prevent famines or natural disasters, during some specific festivals or after the death of the Inca, for example,” the explorer continued.
