An illustration of the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Human_sacrifice" class="extiw" title="en:Human sacrifice">ritual sacrifice</a> by strangulation of 53 young women (aged 15 to 25) at the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mound_72" class="extiw" title="en:Mound 72">Mound 72</a> burial of an important personage, now referred to as the "Birdman" because of the falcon shaped arrangement of beads around his body.  Mound 72 is a ridge-top mound at the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cahokia" class="extiw" title="en:Cahokia">Cahokia Mounds Site</a>, a large <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mississippian_culture" class="extiw" title="en:Mississippian culture">Mississippian culture</a> mound center located in present day Madison County, Illinois.
<a href="//commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/User:Heironymous_Rowe" title="User:Heironymous Rowe">Heironymous Rowe</a>
CC BY-SA 3.0
<span class="int-own-work" lang="en">Own work</span>