From 100 BC to 600 AD, the Moche civilization flourished in Peru (near Lake Titichacha). It then collapsed suddenly around 600 AD, likely due to a sudden climate change: several decades of heavy rainfall, followed by a period of famine that destroyed the delicate ecosystem. They left behind statuettes and artifacts, testifying to warrior contests, where the loser was sacrificed by decapitation by an animal-headed figure. One of the sacrificial sites unearthed 75 male warriors sacrificed in this way, along with two executioners. The tomb also included a wooden staff still soaked in blood. Some of the sacrificed had their facial skin removed, and sometimes their arms severed from their bodies; others had their flesh removed from their skeletons, and two had their skulls transformed into a sort of container.
