Scientists from the University of Warsaw, Poland, may have finally managed to elucidate the mystery surrounding Inca rituals. And this, thanks to the bodies of four mummified young girls found in Peru, near the Ampato and Sara Sara volcanoes. According to Gizmodo, they date from around 500 years ago.
The Incas were a pre-Columbian civilization in South America, best known for building Machu Picchu. The empire lasted from the late 1200s to 1572, and many Peruvians are descended from these indigenous people.
All killed by a blow to the head
The four children found were sacrificed during an Inca ritual called capacocha. “It is one of the most important ceremonial rituals of the Inca Empire”explains Dagmara Socha, archaeologist and lead author of the study. The ritual took place at different times of the year: during a natural disaster, during seasonal celebrations, or even when the community was traveling. “The capacocha children were the representatives of their living communities before the deities”adds the researcher.
Only a few historical sources describe these Inca rituals, because few bodies of victims of the capacocha were found. The remains of the four children were named by scientists Ampato #1, Ampato #2, Ampato #4 and Sara Sara, each after the volcano where they were found.
Ampato #1’s scans reveal injuries to the skull, pelvis and chest. Blows to the head and pelvis would have been fatal. Her body having been naturally mummified by the cold, researchers managed to estimate the young girl’s age at the time of her death: 14 years old. Next to his body were found bags containing corn, fragments of pottery, and figurines.
Children with health problems
Ampato #2 was 8 years old when she was sacrificed. She also died of a head injury, but further tests suggested she suffered from chronic health problems. An element which calls into question previous research on the subject, affirming that the sacrificed children were chosen because they were “perfect”.
“We must be careful with ancient stories describing rituals. Historical sources describe children as physically perfect and without defects, but our analyzes reveal a very different reality.comments Dagmara Socha. She continues: “European researchers may not have understood what the Incas considered perfect.”
Sara Sara was approximately 14 years old and had head injuries similar to those of Ampato #1. Her remains were naturally mummified and, like Ampato #2, she had health problems.
Ampato No. 4 died around the age of 10, also from a head injury. But more surprising: his body was intentionally altered after his death, and buried twice. She was probably killed in one place before being moved to another, a habit due to the frequent movement of populations under the Inca empire. Archaeologists found stones and pieces of textile in his abdominal cavity. Furthermore, some of his bones were missing. This makes Ampato No. 4 the first victim of capacocha known to science which would have been deliberately mummified.
This study establishes for the first time that the role of sacrificed children did not end at the moment of their death. Until now, the only information in this direction came from colonial chronicles. For example, Pedro Pizarro, a Spanish conquistador, wrote: “The living visit mummies to obtain approval for a marriage.” The mummification of Ampato No. 4 shows that sacrificed children could play a similar role in the religious life of communities.
