Burials of dogs and other animals, being 1000 years old, are still being found in the area of the ZOO in Lima, Peru, revealing the importance of animals in the pre-Columbian culture of the region.

Within past months archaeologists unearthed 10 dogs, two guinea pigs, a human and part of a llama at the site. These finds add up to the total of 134 humans and 138 dogs unearthed there between 2012 and 2013. The animals are said to have been buried between the years 1000-1470 by members of the Ichma culture. The experts believe the dogs were buried as offerings to accompany deceased humans on their journey into afterlife. Some of these animals were placed in a resting position and obviously had been strangled with the cords tying up their legs and necks, while only one of them had its throat cut. The archaeologists recovered the complete skeletons of 48 humans and 63 dogs and skulls of further 86 people and 75 canines. Some of the humans seem to have died in the context of a conflict or violence of some kind because most of them were individuals between 20 and 40 years old who had suffered blows to the head and ribs before dying.

(after Fox News Latino & Digital Journal)