Cargando…

Frozen Mummies from Andean Mountaintop Shrines: Bioarchaeology and Ethnohistory of Inca Human Sacrifice

This study will focus on frozen mummies of sacrificial victims from mounts Llullaillaco (6739 m), Quehuar (6130 m), El Toro (6160 m), and the Aconcagua massif. These finds provide bioarchaeological data from mountaintop sites that has been recovered in scientifically controlled excavations in the no...

Descripción completa

Detalles Bibliográficos
Autor principal: Ceruti, Maria Constanza
Formato: Online Artículo Texto
Lenguaje:English
Publicado: Hindawi Publishing Corporation 2015
Materias:
Acceso en línea:https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4543117/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26345378
http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2015/439428
_version_ 1782386577500012544
author Ceruti, Maria Constanza
author_facet Ceruti, Maria Constanza
author_sort Ceruti, Maria Constanza
collection PubMed
description This study will focus on frozen mummies of sacrificial victims from mounts Llullaillaco (6739 m), Quehuar (6130 m), El Toro (6160 m), and the Aconcagua massif. These finds provide bioarchaeological data from mountaintop sites that has been recovered in scientifically controlled excavations in the northwest of Argentina, which was once part of the southern province of the Inca Empire. Numerous interdisciplinary studies have been conducted on the Llullaillaco mummies, including radiological evaluations by conventional X-rays and CT scans, which provided information about condition and pathology of the bones and internal organ, as well as dental studies oriented to the estimation of the ages of the three children at the time of death. Ancient DNA studies and hair analysis were also performed in cooperation with the George Mason University, the University of Bradford, and the Laboratory of Biological Anthropology at the University of Copenhagen. Ethnohistorical sources reveal interesting aspects related to the commemorative, expiatory, propitiatory, and dedicatory aspects of human sacrifice performed under Inca rule. The selection of the victims along with the procedures followed during the performance of the capacocha ceremony will be discussed, based on the bioarchaeological evidences from frozen mummies and the accounts recorded by the Spanish chroniclers.
format Online
Article
Text
id pubmed-4543117
institution National Center for Biotechnology Information
language English
publishDate 2015
publisher Hindawi Publishing Corporation
record_format MEDLINE/PubMed
spelling pubmed-45431172015-09-06 Frozen Mummies from Andean Mountaintop Shrines: Bioarchaeology and Ethnohistory of Inca Human Sacrifice Ceruti, Maria Constanza Biomed Res Int Review Article This study will focus on frozen mummies of sacrificial victims from mounts Llullaillaco (6739 m), Quehuar (6130 m), El Toro (6160 m), and the Aconcagua massif. These finds provide bioarchaeological data from mountaintop sites that has been recovered in scientifically controlled excavations in the northwest of Argentina, which was once part of the southern province of the Inca Empire. Numerous interdisciplinary studies have been conducted on the Llullaillaco mummies, including radiological evaluations by conventional X-rays and CT scans, which provided information about condition and pathology of the bones and internal organ, as well as dental studies oriented to the estimation of the ages of the three children at the time of death. Ancient DNA studies and hair analysis were also performed in cooperation with the George Mason University, the University of Bradford, and the Laboratory of Biological Anthropology at the University of Copenhagen. Ethnohistorical sources reveal interesting aspects related to the commemorative, expiatory, propitiatory, and dedicatory aspects of human sacrifice performed under Inca rule. The selection of the victims along with the procedures followed during the performance of the capacocha ceremony will be discussed, based on the bioarchaeological evidences from frozen mummies and the accounts recorded by the Spanish chroniclers. Hindawi Publishing Corporation 2015 2015-08-06 /pmc/articles/PMC4543117/ /pubmed/26345378 http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2015/439428 Text en Copyright © 2015 Maria Constanza Ceruti. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/ This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
spellingShingle Review Article
Ceruti, Maria Constanza
Frozen Mummies from Andean Mountaintop Shrines: Bioarchaeology and Ethnohistory of Inca Human Sacrifice
title Frozen Mummies from Andean Mountaintop Shrines: Bioarchaeology and Ethnohistory of Inca Human Sacrifice
title_full Frozen Mummies from Andean Mountaintop Shrines: Bioarchaeology and Ethnohistory of Inca Human Sacrifice
title_fullStr Frozen Mummies from Andean Mountaintop Shrines: Bioarchaeology and Ethnohistory of Inca Human Sacrifice
title_full_unstemmed Frozen Mummies from Andean Mountaintop Shrines: Bioarchaeology and Ethnohistory of Inca Human Sacrifice
title_short Frozen Mummies from Andean Mountaintop Shrines: Bioarchaeology and Ethnohistory of Inca Human Sacrifice
title_sort frozen mummies from andean mountaintop shrines: bioarchaeology and ethnohistory of inca human sacrifice
topic Review Article
url https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4543117/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26345378
http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2015/439428
work_keys_str_mv AT cerutimariaconstanza frozenmummiesfromandeanmountaintopshrinesbioarchaeologyandethnohistoryofincahumansacrifice