A Maitas-Chiribaya (1000 AD) female mummy from the Azapa Valley, Chile
Notice the "X" tatoo on her left cheek
Dr. Sutter's Mummy & Human Sacrifice Image Gallery
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A Maitas-Chiribaya (1000 AD) female mummy from the Azapa Valley, Chile Notice the "X" tatoo on her left cheek |
A Supplement to his Science Central Lunch With A Scientist Talk
"South American Mummies and Human Sacrifices"
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Other Links
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An Adult Male Chinchorro Mummy
This Chinchorro (5,500 BC - 2000 BC) mummy was in the process of being autopsied when the photo was taken. The autopsy was conducted to both understand Chinchorro mummification technique and to identify any possible diseases this individual might have suffered from while he was living. The chinchorros were a fishing-gathering society that inhabited the desert coast of southern Peru, and northern, Chile.
Before it was restored, this mummy had human fetal bones showing where it was cracked open. The Chinchorro mummified adult men, women, children, and even infants who died before they were born!
Child Mummy Sacrificed by the Inca
This mummy was recently excavated by Dr. Johan Reinhard in Salta Argentia. The Inca (AD 14?? - 1532) conducted a ceremony called Capac Hucha where they sacrificed childen atop some of the highest peaks of the Andes.
A Moche sacrificial victim from Huaca de la Luna Plaza 3A
This individual was likely struck by a star-shaped mace head such as the one depicted in the image which was located at Huaca de la Luna. The Moche (AD 1 - AD 650) were a state-level society that existed along the north coast of Peru. They are well known for their elaborate, life-like ceramics that depict daily life and, of course, human sacrifice.
The wooden mace in this images was found by Dr. Steve Bourget in Huaca de la Luna, Platform II. Experiments conducted on a sample of the mace indicates it was literally drenched in human blood. The mace was almost certainly used in Moche sacrifice in a fashion similiar to that illustrated here.
Artistic Representation and Bioarchaeological Reality
This image illustrates Moche ceramic iconography of human sacrifice and how human skeletal remains from sacrificial contexts match up with the iconography.
This page was created and is maintained by Dr. Richard Sutter.
Created 10/4/01.