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CT Scans Reveal the Horrors of Being an Incan Child Sacrifice

Researchers found that children who were sacrificed to appease the gods were drunk and drugged for up to a year before they died.

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Unsurprisingly, being an Incan child sacrifice was not a pleasant experience. Back in 2013, researchers found that children who were sacrificed to appease the gods were drunk and drugged out of their minds for up to a year before they died. Now, research teams found evidence suggesting that being an Incan sacrifice was a horrifying experience, to put it mildly.

In a January study published in the Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports, researchers analyzed the mummified remains of children found atop Peru’s Ampato and Sara Sara volcanoes. The four girls—known as Ampato #1, #2, #4, and Sara Sara—were victims of capacocha. That’s a major Inca ritual tied to political events, natural disasters, and imperial ceremonies.

The Inca selected children to serve as sacred representatives of their communities before the gods. Spanish chroniclers described these children as physically perfect offerings. The CT scans tell a different story.

CT Scans Reveal What Incan Child Sacrifice Really Looked Like

Ampato #1, often called the Lady of Ampato, died around age 14 from blunt force trauma to the head and pelvis. Ampato #2, about eight years old, also suffered a fatal cranial injury and showed signs of chronic health problems, contradicting the idea that only flawless children were chosen. Sara Sara, also around 14, had similar head injuries and health stress markers.

Ampato #4 is probably the most revealing case. She died at about 10 from a head wound. CT imaging suggests her body was intentionally modified after death. Researchers found stones and textiles inside her abdominal cavity and evidence that she may have been buried more than once. She is now considered the first known deliberately mummified child in a capacocha.

Spanish accounts describe preserved bodies of Inca rulers being visited and consulted by the living. Given that all the evidence is pointing to Ampato #4 being treated the same way suggests that a sacrificed child may have continued to play a ritualistic role even after death, especially in provincial communities that had to relocate.

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