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Human spines found on posts in Peru

Some of the threaded vertebrae.
Some of the threaded vertebrae. Photo: J. L. Bongers et al., 2022/Antiquity

Archaeologists in southern Peru found a disturbing scene: 192 posts threaded by human vertebrae. The freaky artifacts were dated to between 1450 CE and 1650 CE; the archaeological team thinks the posts may have been a response to Colonial-era looting of graves.