500 years ago, in southern Peru, an Inca woman was sacrificed to death in a macabre ritual offering. This is the conclusion reached by a team of German scientists after analyzing his mummified body discovered over 100 years ago in 1904.
also from the DNA tests to this stunning mum, researchers have found that this woman suffered from Chagas disease, currently considered as one of the world’s most neglected tropical diseases, according to the World Organization Health and affects mostly poor populations or developing countries.
In their study, published in the journal Plos One , the scientists detail the victim of ritual sacrifice was about 20 years and died “probably somewhere south coast of Peru,” declared . Later, he was mummified.
Scientists studied the material of the strings of her braids.
have also checked the strings, you used to wearing two braids when there was slaughter, were manufactured with a distinctive item of South America, and the features of his face are typical of the Inca people.
mummy was found in Germany in 1904. It is thought that came to Europe after a Bavarian princess brought back from an expedition to South America in 1898. Its specific origin is not known, but, based on stable isotope analysis of the bones and hair, it is determined that their diet was rich in fish. Therefore, researchers believe likely lived near the coast.
Thanks to the three-dimensional reconstruction techniques performed in his lab, the team of scientists from the University of Munich, found a deep wound in the skull of the mummy . This impact analysis led them to conclude that had to suffer a quick death from stroke.
Three-dimensional reconstruction of the body. UM
“Current techniques provide such a wealth of information that can reconstruct aspects of life, illness and death of people who lived hundreds and thousands of years ago,” says Andreas Nerlich, one of the study authors.
Nerlich points out that the girl was probably born in a poor environment. “The Chagas parasite that infected him lives in the walls of typical adobe lower social classes, not in stone houses or better equipped, with a cleaner environment,” explains told the BBC.
About the skull researchers found a deep injury.
Chagas disease, as highlighted by this researcher remains endemic in South America, especially among the population living in poverty, and can be fatal if not treated early. In fact, Nerlich believes that the symptoms presented by the mummy, he had little time to live, even though he had escaped his murderers .
the Inca empire, the young are often sacrificed as offerings to the sun god in their religious rituals. After sacrifice, the parents of the sacrificed daughter and the community where he lived acquired great prestige and respect. However, archaeologist Emma Brown, of the department of archaeological sciences at the University of Bradford (United Kingdom), which was not involved in the study, considers that there is insufficient data to conclude that this woman was the victim of a ritual sacrifice .
According to this expert
notes, sacrifices used to take place when the girl was 13 or 14 years. “This young man, therefore, was older than women who usually died in these rituals,” he concludes.
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