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 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.

Keywords: Erythroxylum coca; South America; bioarchaeology; computed tomography; ice mummies.

Fig. 1.

Posture of the Maiden shown through scaled excavation photographs and 3D visualizations generated by using the original CT scans (45): (A) in situ photograph of the Maiden’s posture within the shrine [Reprinted with permission from ref. . Photography by Johan Reinhard] and (B–D) 3D visualizations of the body: (B) vertical view corresponding to the same position shown in A, (C) corresponding anterior view, and (D) lateral view. The CT data were constrained by the diameters of gantry opening (60 cm) and the field of view (45 cm scanning circle) within the Tomoscan M/EG (Philips), with the upper part of the head, the knees, the lower legs, and the feet consequently missing.

Fig. 2.

Plan view showing the Maiden in situ during excavation. The juxtaposition of the Maiden and her associated artifacts (left to right) suggest careful arrangement, with no displacement of the white feathered headdress (N-26, Table S1) or brown textile (N-34) shrouding her head. The border of the male woolen tunic (N-33) draped across her right shoulder and knee was used to place ceramic plates (N-18), a pedestal pot with lid (N-21), and stirrup pot with vegetal bung (N-22) immediately in front of her, and these remain upright, showing a similar lack of disturbance. Woolen bags containing food (N-10), a cactus thorn comb (N-7), and three female anthropomorphic statues (N-23, N-24, and N-25) were all located immediately around her. Other artifacts have already been recovered. [Reprinted with permission from ref. . Photography by Johan Reinhard.]

Fig. 3.

The Maiden’s gastrointestinal tract: (A) 3D visualization of the body with the trace of the three axial views on the right (labeled 1–3) and (B) 3D visualization of the gastrointestinal tract and fecal matter [1, axial view at the level of the 10th thoracic vertebra; 2, axial view between the third and fourth lumbar vertebrae; 3, axial view between fourth and fifth sacral vertebrae]. E, esophagus; F, residual food (axial view 1)/feces (axial views 2 and 3); PM, psoas muscles; R, rectum; S, stomach; SI, small intestine.

Fig. 4.

The Maiden’s coca quid shown (A) within the cheek in an anterior photograph of the Maiden’s face [Reprinted with permission from ref. . Photography by Johan Reinhard.]. (B) Axial radiograph of the interior of the mouth shows the coca quid (green) held between the teeth. (C and D) Three-dimensional visualizations of the cranium (yellow), teeth (orange), tongue (red), and coca quid (green).

Fig. 5.

LC-MS/MS hair analyses for all three children using 15-mm segments (each approximately 0.2 mg) along the length of the hair from proximal end (21-cm hair shaft length for the Maiden) indicate that all three children had ingested coca, as evidenced by levels of (A) BZE and (B) COC. Concurrent coca and alcohol use, particularly evident in the Maiden’s hair closest to death, is confirmed by (C) the presence of COCE and (D) based on CCOCE/CCOC (data are reproduced in Table S3).