Tumis, composed of a half-moon blade attached to a shaft, were essential grave goods for later Peruvian cultures. This knife's silver blade was covered with sections of gold foil and topped by a representation of Naymlap, the Sicán ancestor deity. Ritual sacrifice of humans, animals and even cloth, was common. Vanquished warriors were decapitated, while children, wives and ordinary people were sometimes killed to be interred with a member of the elite. Tumis, however, were purely symbolic.

Tumis, composed of a half-moon blade attached to a shaft, were essential grave goods for later Peruvian cultures. This knife's silver blade was covered with sections of gold foil and topped by a representation of Naymlap, the Sicán ancestor deity. Ritual sacrifice of humans, animals and even cloth, was common. Vanquished warriors were decapitated, while children, wives and ordinary people were sometimes killed to be interred with a member of the elite. Tumis, however, were purely symbolic.