The young woman is believed to have been part of the Manteño people, who lived along the Ecuadorian coast and survived by ...

Researchers believe the young woman may have been sacrificed due to her fertility, possibly as a ritual offering to appease the gods during devastating El Niño events to ensure agricultural success.

Among the shells is a thorny oyster (Spondylus americanus). In an 1804 letter, Mrs Atkinson begged her son Matthew, who was based in Jamaica, to get the shell for her. Found along the Atlantic ...

Her eyes were covered with two ark clam shells. There was a large green clay stone nearby and several ceramic fragments on her forehead, according to the study. Crescent-shaped spondylus mascaras, or ...

According to a Live Science report, bioarchaeologist Sara Juengst of the University of North Carolina at Charlotte and her ...

The study described the woman as having eyes covered with two ark clam shells, with several ceramic fragments on her forehead, and spondylus pendants and beads, known as chaquira, from various ...

Inside were often gourd containers, textiles, foodstuffs, and weaving baskets, while external offerings included Spondylus shell, ceramics, wooden canes, and weaving implements. The burial of the ...

The burial, which included valuable trade artifacts like Spondylus shells and obsidian blades, suggests a ritual sacrifice, though the exact motivations remain unclear. Fractures on her skull ...