Archaeological, radiological, and biological evidence offer insight into Inca child sacrifice

Andrew S. Wilson; Emma L. Brown; Chiara Villa; Niels Lynnerup; Andrew   Healey; Maria Constanza  Ceruti; Johan  Reinhard; Carlos H.  Previgliano; Facundo  Arias Araoz; Josefina  Gonzalez Diez; Timothy  Taylor

doi:10.1073/pnas.1305117110

Archaeological, radiological, and biological evidence offer insight into Inca child sacrifice

Andrew S. Wilson, Emma L. Brown, Chiara Villa, Niels Lynnerup, Andrew Healey, Maria Constanza Ceruti, Johan Reinhard, Carlos H. Previgliano, Facundo Arias Araoz, Josefina Gonzalez Diez, Timothy Taylor

Unit of Forensic Anthropology

42 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

Examination of three frozen bodies, a 13-y-old girl and a girl and boy aged 4 to 5 y, separately entombed near the Andean summit of Volcán Llullaillaco, Argentina, sheds new light on human sacrifice as a central part of the Imperial Inca capacocha rite, described by chroniclers writing after the Spanish conquest. The high-resolution diachronic data presented here, obtained directly from scalp hair, implies escalating coca and alcohol ingestion in the lead-up to death. These data, combined with archaeological and radiological evidence, deepen our understanding of the circumstances and context of final placement on the mountain top. We argue that the individuals were treated differently according to their age, status, and ritual role. Finally, we relate our findings to questions of consent, coercion, and/or compliance, and the controversial issues of ideological justification and strategies of social control and political legitimation pursued by the expansionist Inca state before European contact.

Original language	English
Journal	Proceedings of the National Academy of Science of the United States of America
Volume	110
Issue number	33
ISSN	0027-8424
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1305117110
Publication status	Published - 13 Aug 2013

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Wilson, A. S., Brown, E. L., Villa, C., Lynnerup, N., Healey, A., Ceruti, M. C., Reinhard, J., Previgliano, C. H., Arias Araoz, F., Gonzalez Diez, J., & Taylor, T. (2013). Archaeological, radiological, and biological evidence offer insight into Inca child sacrifice. Proceedings of the National Academy of Science of the United States of America, 110(33). https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1305117110

Wilson, AS, Brown, EL, Villa, C , Lynnerup, N, Healey, A, Ceruti, MC, Reinhard, J, Previgliano, CH, Arias Araoz, F, Gonzalez Diez, J & Taylor, T 2013, 'Archaeological, radiological, and biological evidence offer insight into Inca child sacrifice', Proceedings of the National Academy of Science of the United States of America, vol. 110, no. 33. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1305117110

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title = "Archaeological, radiological, and biological evidence offer insight into Inca child sacrifice",

abstract = "Examination of three frozen bodies, a 13-y-old girl and a girl and boy aged 4 to 5 y, separately entombed near the Andean summit of Volc{\'a}n Llullaillaco, Argentina, sheds new light on human sacrifice as a central part of the Imperial Inca capacocha rite, described by chroniclers writing after the Spanish conquest. The high-resolution diachronic data presented here, obtained directly from scalp hair, implies escalating coca and alcohol ingestion in the lead-up to death. These data, combined with archaeological and radiological evidence, deepen our understanding of the circumstances and context of final placement on the mountain top. We argue that the individuals were treated differently according to their age, status, and ritual role. Finally, we relate our findings to questions of consent, coercion, and/or compliance, and the controversial issues of ideological justification and strategies of social control and political legitimation pursued by the expansionist Inca state before European contact. ",

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AU - Wilson, Andrew S.

AU - Brown, Emma L.

AU - Villa, Chiara

AU - Lynnerup, Niels

AU - Healey, Andrew

AU - Ceruti, Maria Constanza

AU - Reinhard, Johan

AU - Previgliano, Carlos H.

AU - Arias Araoz, Facundo

AU - Gonzalez Diez, Josefina

AU - Taylor, Timothy

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N2 - Examination of three frozen bodies, a 13-y-old girl and a girl and boy aged 4 to 5 y, separately entombed near the Andean summit of Volcán Llullaillaco, Argentina, sheds new light on human sacrifice as a central part of the Imperial Inca capacocha rite, described by chroniclers writing after the Spanish conquest. The high-resolution diachronic data presented here, obtained directly from scalp hair, implies escalating coca and alcohol ingestion in the lead-up to death. These data, combined with archaeological and radiological evidence, deepen our understanding of the circumstances and context of final placement on the mountain top. We argue that the individuals were treated differently according to their age, status, and ritual role. Finally, we relate our findings to questions of consent, coercion, and/or compliance, and the controversial issues of ideological justification and strategies of social control and political legitimation pursued by the expansionist Inca state before European contact.

AB - Examination of three frozen bodies, a 13-y-old girl and a girl and boy aged 4 to 5 y, separately entombed near the Andean summit of Volcán Llullaillaco, Argentina, sheds new light on human sacrifice as a central part of the Imperial Inca capacocha rite, described by chroniclers writing after the Spanish conquest. The high-resolution diachronic data presented here, obtained directly from scalp hair, implies escalating coca and alcohol ingestion in the lead-up to death. These data, combined with archaeological and radiological evidence, deepen our understanding of the circumstances and context of final placement on the mountain top. We argue that the individuals were treated differently according to their age, status, and ritual role. Finally, we relate our findings to questions of consent, coercion, and/or compliance, and the controversial issues of ideological justification and strategies of social control and political legitimation pursued by the expansionist Inca state before European contact.

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DO - 10.1073/pnas.1305117110

M3 - Journal article

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JO - Proceedings of the National Academy of Science of the United States of America

JF - Proceedings of the National Academy of Science of the United States of America

IS - 33

ER -

Archaeological, radiological, and biological evidence offer insight into Inca child sacrifice

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