DEAD MEN DO TELL TALES

National Geographic EXPLORER Investigates Ancient “Moche Murder Mysteries”

Sunday, April 28, 2002, at 8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PT on MSNBC

(Washington, DC April 1, 2002)—The Moche people of pre-Inca Peru were renowned builders, artists, and warriors—but were they also cold-blooded killers? It is the ultimate murder mystery. At an elaborate temple complex in northern Peru, mass graves have been discovered, and the remains there shout accusations of violent ritual sacrifice. Joining a crack team of anthropologists, archaeologists and forensic detectives, National Geographic EXPLORER unearths dark secrets of a bloody past when Moche Murder Mysteries premieres Sunday, April 28, at 8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PT on MSNBC.

Forensic anthropologist John Verano was presented with a nearly 2000-year-old mystery of grand proportions when the graves as the Moche site were uncovered. Immediately, several theories arose. Was it cold-blooded murder by the Moche warriors of their enemies? Or was it a sacrifice of their own people in an attempt to appease the gods? Verano’s team employs today’s cutting edge forensic science to carefully decipher the myriad of clues left behind.

It is at once a shocking and intriguing case—skeletons with ropes wrapped around their wrists and necks, victims artfully laid out in a bizarre dance of bones. A beheaded skull with unique cut marks is sent to a forensic artist in America for facial reconstruction and analysis, letting viewers know for the first time what the victims looked like and perhaps providing additional clues. But even as x-rays and other tests reveal the grisly methods of murder, the motives behind such brutal acts remain a mystery.

While the archaeological detectives turn to present-day sacrificial rites practiced among Andean people for answers, EXPLORER visits the scene of the crime—a sprawling pyramid complex called the Temple of the Moon. What is the link between these ancient practices and traditional cultures today? The case breaks open as EXPLORER takes viewers on an incredible visual journey through time to solve the Moche Murder Mysteries.

For programming information and updates for National Geographic EXPLORER, please log on to www.nationalgeographic.com/tv/explorer.

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