Archaeologists find remains of 227 sacrificed children in Peru
Lima: Archaeologists in Peru say the 227 bodies they have unearthed from a site used by the pre-Columbian Chimu culture is the biggest-ever discovery of sacrificed children. Archaeologists have been digging since last year at the huge sacrificial site in Huanchaco, a beachside tourist town north of the capital Lima.
“This is the biggest site where the remains of sacrificed children have been found,” chief archaeologist Feren Castillo told AFP on Tuesday. Castillo said the children, who were aged between four and 14, were sacrificed in a ritual to honor the Chimu culture’s gods. “They were sacrificed to appease the El Nino phenomenon,” and show signs of being killed during wet weather, he said. He added that there may still be more to be found.
“It’s uncontrollable, this thing with the children. Wherever you dig, there’s another one,” Castillo said.
The children’s remains were found in a position facing the sea. Some still had skin and hair. Huanchaco was a site where many child sacrifices took place during the time of the Chimu culture, whose apogee was between 1200 and 1400. Archaeologists first found children’s bodies at the dig site in the town’s Pampa la Cruz neighbourhood in June 2018, unearthing 56 skeletons.
Pampa la Cruz is a short distance from Huanchaquito, where the remains of 140 sacrificed children and 200 llamas were found in April 2018. The Chimu civilization extended along the Peruvian coast to Ecuador but disappeared in 1475 after it was conquered by the Inca empire. (AFP)
‘Virgin’ to be removed from marriage certificates in B’desh
Dhaka: In what is being hailed as a step towards gender equality, brides in Bangladesh will no longer have to declare if they are ‘virgins’ on marriage certificates, as per a high court ruling.
According to Bangladesh’s Muslim marriage and divorce laws, a bride currently needs to select from amongst three options on a marriage certificate which are ‘kumari’ (means virgin), widow or divorced, according to CNN.
However, the same is not required of men.
Three rights groups had filed a petition against the term in 2014.
They had described the practice to be discriminatory. As per the ruling, the word ‘kumari’ will be replaced with ‘unmarried’.
The other two options will remain the same. As for grooms, they will now be required to disclose their marital status as well. However, the full version of the ruling will be released in October.
The Bangladeshi government’s compliance with the court order also remains unclear. (ANI)