Mummies preserved in the Andes mountains are providing new clues about the final months of children sacrificed several centuries ago.
In the Inca Empire, some children and young women were taken to sanctuaries located on mountain summits. They were sacrificed there during religious ceremonies called capacocha. These places were associated with deities, and according to the beliefs of the time, the victims were meant to serve as intermediaries with them.
The individuals examined in this study
The cold at high altitude sometimes preserved their bodies. This preservation now makes it possible to study tiny traces of substances consumed before their deaths. A team led by Dagmara Socha of the University of Warsaw examined eight mummies discovered in Peru and Argentina.
The scientists took very small samples of hair or nails. These tissues can sometimes retain traces of substances absorbed by the body. Unlike blood analysis, they can provide clues about a period before death, especially when the hair is long enough.
In all the hair samples studied, the team found substances characteristic of coca leaf consumption. This plant was used in the Andes long before the present day. The leaves could be chewed while traveling at high altitude and also held an important place in religious practices.
These leaves should not be confused with the prepared and concentrated cocaine known today. Coca naturally contains this molecule in small quantities. Its presence in the mummies' hair is evidence of plant consumption, not proof of use comparable to modern drugs.
Other findings show that preparations varied from person to person. In victims found in Argentina, the researchers identified a substance formed when the body receives both compounds from coca and alcohol. The Incas were familiar with a fermented drink made from corn that could be used during ceremonies.
One discovery concerns a young girl found on Mount Ampato in Peru and nicknamed Juanita. Her nails contained a small amount of harmine, a substance found in certain Amazonian plants. This could indicate the use of a plant-based preparation brought from far away. However, this trace does not make it possible to identify the drink consumed or its effects precisely.
The hair of another victim, discovered at Chuscha, was also studied. It reveals that coca consumption varied during the final months of her life. Signs of an association with alcohol appear in the section corresponding to the period closest to her death.
These analyses have limitations: some substances disappear over time or leave few traces in hair and nails. The researchers are counting on more sensitive detection methods to examine other mummies and better understand the differences between ceremonies held in the various regions of the Inca Empire.