Post by UKarchaeology on Nov 17, 2015 2:59:22 GMT
The remains of an Incan boy, about 6 or 7 years old and sacrificed to the gods more than 500 years ago, belonged to a previously unknown offshoot of an ancient Native American lineage, new research finds
The mummy of an Incan child who was sacrificed to the gods more than 500 years ago belonged to a previously unknown offshoot of an ancient Native American lineage, new research finds.
The child, a 7-year-old who was found frozen in the highest reaches of the Andes in Argentina, was part of a genetic lineage that arose when humans were beginning to cross the Bering Strait or first migrating into the Americas, the researchers found.
Ancient child sacrifice
The Incan child mummy was first unearthed in 1985, when mountaineers hiking near Cerro Aconcagua (the highest mountain outside Asia) discovered a partially unearthed frozen mummy at an altitude of about 17,400 feet (5,300 meters). The group went back and alerted archaeologists, who conducted an official excavation.
It turned out that the mummy was the remains of a little boy, about 6 or 7 years old, who was wrapped in textiles and buried with six or seven little statues. Based on the finds, the archaeologists concluded that the boy was a victim of "capacocha," a ritual sacrifice practiced by the Incas about 500 years ago.
"The sacrificial rites involved children of great physical beauty and health in honor of the gods; the rituals were performed during or after important events (death of an emperor, the birth of a royal son, a victory in battle or an annual or biennial event in the Inca calendar), or in response to catastrophes (earthquakes, volcanic eruptions and epidemics)," the researchers wrote in the paper, which was published today (Nov. 12) in the journal Scientific Reports.
Full story: www.scientificamerican.com/article/incan-child-sacrificed-to-the-gods-reveals-history-of-american-expansion/