In this dissertation, I reconstruct patterns of human sacrifice using the results of the excavation and bioarchaeological analysis of the sacrificial offerings from the Templo de la Piedra Sagrada, Tucume, Peru. Patterns of perimortem and postmortem treatment of the human victims are consistent with a regular, sequentially performed sacrifice ritual that involved the physical modification (decapitation, throat slitting, and chest cavity opening) and individual burial of a minimum of 117 individuals. The sample demography suggests a specific selection of children (5-18 years) and adult males (19-45 years), as well as juvenile camelids Human sacrifice is described in early ethnohistoric sources as a special practice during Inca times. Numerous examples of Pre-Inca contexts of ritual violence have been discovered. Compared to previously proposed models of Andean human sacrifice, the Templo de la Piedra Sagrada context shares some features that can be seen as representing continuity with earlier north coastal traditions. On the other hand, the remains and treatment present aspects that make this context unique. The Templo de la Piedra Sagrada demonstrates the complexity of ritual activities in Prehispanic Andean societies, and highlights the social significance of this rite of human sacrifice at Tucume where it was performed repeatedly and resulted in specific patterning of ritual violence beginning in the Late Intermediate Period and continuing into Inca times
