Most of the victims are adult men, and when archaeologists find
a mass execution of men they usually assume they are looking at
war captives. There is not much evidence, though, that the
Lambayeque people were warriors. Their sites are undefended,
their art does not feature warfare, and weapons are not
prominent in their tombs. This has led to some strange
speculations about where these victims came from, like this one
from Haagen Klaus of the University of Utah: All the dead in the
newfound pit were likely willing participants from local
communities engaged in a ritual that celebrated death so that
"new life could emerge in the world," Klaus said in an email to
National Geographic News. I think it is more likely that there
was some warfare in the Sicán world, however little their
culture emphasized it, and that these men were the victims of
it. Since the site is in many ways unique (so far) it is very
hard to know.