Archaeology can reveal shocking similarities between modern day humans and our most distant ancient ancestors.

But it just as often allows us awe-inspiring glimpses into feats our species accomplished

without the aid of technologies we now take for granted. It can also force us to

confront historical practices that shock our modern sensibilities and leave us grappling with thorny ethical questions.

For science quickly, I'm Rachel Feltman. You're listening to the final episode of our three-part fascination series on Extreme

Archaeology. If you're just tuning in, make sure to circle back to the episodes we

posted last Friday and the Friday before that. You'll hear about everything from the surprising sophistication of prehistoric

stargazing to the study of ingenious ancient fishing techniques that have persisted to this day.

Back again with us is the award-winning documentary filmmaker and journalist Kata Karath.

She's taking us on one more adventure, this time to the top of a mountain with a climate so extreme it's practically alien to introduce to

to introduce us to archaeologists who study human sacrifice.

Before we get started, a quick note about language.

Ketchua was the primary language spoken among the Inca,

and its varieties are widely spoken today in the Andean regions where the Inca Empire extended.

Throughout this episode, we use Kettua words where possible.

The pronunciations you'll hear reflect the way the language is currently spoken by the descendants

of the peoples who lived in the part of the Inca Empire that included what is now

Northern Argentina. We've also provided the corresponding Spanish or English

words and spellings in the transcript where appropriate. We want to make sure to mention by the way that the

Ketchua language family includes many different local varieties and that these

are and were only some of the languages spoken among indigenous communities

in the Andes.

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