The variable roads to sacrifice: Isotopic investigations of human remains from Chotuna‐Huaca de los Sacrificios, Lambayeque, Peru

Abstract

This study investigates two key variables-residential context and subsistence-among sacrificial victims dating to the Late Horizon (A.D. 1450-1532) in the Huaca de los Sacrificios at the Chotuna-Chornancap Archaeological Complex in north coastal Peru. We investigate whether aspects of sacrifice in this distant coastal province mirrored that found in Inca heartland contexts such as the capacocha, or remained more typical of coastal sacrificial traditions. Stable carbon, nitrogen, and oxygen isotope values were characterized in bone carbonate, bone collagen, and hair keratin to estimate geographic residence during the decade before death and diet in the decade, versus months, before death. Bone δ18 Ocarbonate values have a mean (±SD) of 26.8 ± 1.1%, bone δ13 Ccarbonate values -6.7 ± 1.7%, and bone δ(13) Ccollagen values 11.8 ± 1.3%; bone δ15 Ncollagen values have a mean of 11.5 ± 1.3%. Combined hair δ13 Ckeratin values have a mean of -12.8 ± 1.6%, and hair δ15 Nkeratin values 10.8 ± 1.3%. In contrast to contemporaneous coastal and highland contexts, we are unable to identify immigrants among the sacrificed individuals or changes in diet that indicate provisioning with a standardized diet leading up to death. Instead, results suggest that victims were local to the area, but consumed moderately variable diets consistent with local subsistence patterns. These findings suggest a distinct pattern of human sacrifice in the Late Horizon and underscore the regional and temporal variation in sacrificial practices in the central Andes.

Histopathological Study of a Mummified Eye and Optic Nerve from a Strangled Peruvian Mummy

“…Like other Andean cultures, the Lambayeque seem to have practiced ritual sacrifices of both male and female subjects who were close to important individuals, thus continuing their links after death [2,3] . This is also the case for cultures such as the Inca, Moche, Nasca, and Wari, with different rituals, including the transformation of heads into trophies, and goals such as worshiping the mountains, marking significant political events or providing a powerful status [5][6][7][8][9][10] . This knowledge has helped to provide a better understanding of the motivations behind sacrificial rituals and social practices in the ancient populations of the Andes.…”

Stable isotope analysis of soft tissues from mummified human remains

“…It has been observed that post-selection, victims of sacrifice are often treated differently in the months and weeks leading up to their death, and also may have been moved a considerable distance (Fernández et al 1999; also see below). Turner et al (2013) and indicative of a typical coastal diet from that period. This also suggests that these victims were likely to be local to the site.…”

Palaeodiet inferred from pre‐Hispanic and early colonial human remains from Carrizales, Zaña Valley, Peru

“…Bone and enamel samples were prepared for isotopic analyses using established methodologies (see description in Turner et al, ). Bone powder was soaked for 4 hr with a 10:5:1 solution of methanol, chloroform, and double‐distilled water in 15‐ml borosilicate tubes with PTFE‐lined caps to remove lipids, after which the solution was pipetted out, and the powder air dried for 48 hr at room temperature.…”

“…Bone and enamel samples were prepared for isotopic analyses using established methodologies (see description in Turner et al, 2013). Bone powder was soaked for 4 hr with a 10:…”

“…In recent years, archaeological research on European colonialism in the Americas has underscored variation in how colonial processes impacted indigenous populations (Deagan, 2003;DeFrance, Wernke, & Sharp, 2016;Gaimster & Majewski, 2009;Jamieson, 2001;Liebmann & Murphy, 2011;Loren, 2008;Silliman, 2005;Stojanowski, 2010;Voss & Casella, 2011). Bioarchaeological methods are particularly useful for highlighting differential experiences of colonialism because they facilitate the study of individual life histories and allow archaeologists to bear witness to somatic trauma (Klaus & Tam, 2009;Klaus & Tam, 2010;Knudson & Stojanowski, 2010;Larsen, 2001;Stojanowski, 2004;Tiesler, Zabala, & Cucina, 2010;Turner et al, 2013). Yet to date, the geographic and temporal resolution of bioarchaeological datasets from the colonial Americas remains somewhat coarse, hampering our ability to precisely describe regional and local experiences through rigorous comparison.…”