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In the fifteenth 100 , a chemical group of elect women in the ancient city of Chan Chan spent their days making textiles while living … and in death .

archeologist recently expose a mass grave in the Trujillo province of modern - twenty-four hour period Peru that hold the stiff of about 25 people , mostly women and a couple of children and teenagers , surrounded by cloth tools , including needle , spindles and chalk , according to a statementfrom the Peruvian Ministry of Culture .

Archaeologists discovered around 25 skeletons in a mass grave in Peru.

Archaeologists discovered around 25 skeletons in a mass grave in Peru.

Because the women were buried with these point , they were potential " people dedicated to textile , " according to the statement . The women were buried in a seated position , with their legs bent , and most were under eld 30 .

Related : In exposure : Moche hoarded wealth veil in Peru temple

" It is a very specific population , not too vernal considering the average human life span was 40 years , " Jorge Meneses Bartra , an archaeologist who leads the research projection , told Andina , a Peruvian news authority . The skeleton were wrapped with a cotton plant cloth that was then covered with another fabric made from plant life tissue .

a picture of a woman�s preserved body in a grave

The number of grave good found in the solemn perdition — including stacks of ceramic objects — suggest that the people buried were elite group , according to Smithsonian Magazine .

Archaeologists uncover the mountain tomb , which stretch 32 feet ( 10 beat ) long and wide , sealed with clay that contained jar fragments , which may have dish out as a tomb marker , according to the statement .

The ancient city of Chan Chan , which means " splendiferous Dominicus " in the Chimú language , was the largest city in pre - Columbian America and the capital of the Chimú Empire , which was known to perform rituals demand human forfeiture , harmonise to the BBCandBritannica . The empire reached its height in the fifteenth hundred , before theIncasconquered it around A.D. 1470 .

A human skull stares at the viewer. It is wrapped in thick cords and covered in an ancient textile. Its jaws hang open.

archaeologist have yet to come up any evidence that the human remains in the recently expose grave were the resultant of such sacrifices ; in fact , the investigator do n’t yet hump how the masses choke , Meneses said in the program line .

— photograph : Ancient circular geoglyphs etch into the sand in Peru

— pic : The amazing mummies of Peru and Egypt

Eight human sacrifices were found at the entrance to this tomb, which held the remains of two 12-year-olds from ancient Mesopotamia.

— In photos : Moche treasure hidden in Peru temple

However , the archaeologists do conceive that there were two separate great deal burials in the same tomb . Within the grave , the archaeologists discovered one systema skeletale that " maintains its anatomical position " and another whose bones were jumble and exposed to the constituent , according to the statement .

This finding suggests that the ancient people sink some of these individuals right after they died and some subsequently on . They in all likelihood institute the corpse of the second group of hoi polloi from another burial place , according to the researchers .

A white woman with blonde hair in a ponytail looks at a human skull on a table

" This shows that the Chimu used to relocate and rig their deceased , " Sinthya Cueva García , theatre director of the Chan Chan Archaeological Complex Special Project ’s Archaeological Research Program , said in the statement .

Originally publish on Live Science .

Five human skeletons arranged in a sort of semi-circle, partially excavated from brown dirt

Image from above of an excavated grave revealing numerous thick metal chain links surrounding a human skeleton.

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Right side view of a mummy with dark hair in a bowl cut. There are three black horizontal lines on the cheek.

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