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  • RESEARCH HIGHLIGHT

Sunken treasures in Andean lake show an empire’s quest for control

Artefacts found in Lake Titicaca include bones of a six-month-old llama killed in an ancient rite.
Gold artefacts recovered from Tiwanaku contexts at Khoa

Gold objects consigned to a South American lake between the eighth and tenth centuries AD include animal-shaped plaques and a round medallion depicting a deity. Credit: Christophe Delaere/ULB

Divers scouring the bed of a lake high in the Andes Mountains have found prehistoric deposits of gold, gems and a sacrificed baby llama — evidence of rituals that may have helped leaders to strengthen their hold over an expanding empire.

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Nature 568, 146-147 (2019)

doi: https://doi.org/10.1038/d41586-019-01044-6

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