Not Just Sacrificed On a Whim
Mari has posted about this before, but now we know even more about it.
Researcher Andrew Wilson and his team conducted DNA and chemical tests of hair samples taken from four child mummies found in the Andes mountains in the 1990s.
By studying the ratios of chemicals present in the hair, the team helped show how victims were prepared for death as far as a year in advance, sent on grueling highland journeys, and drugged before the sacrificial ceremonies.
“The findings offer insights into the preparatory stages leading to Inca ritual killing, as represented by the unique capacocha rite,” the report reads, referring to the Inca tradition of mountaintop child sacrifice.
Hair logs a chemical record of what an individual consumes, and the information can stay intact in archaeological remains, the study authors point out.
“It is chilling that the children themselves, through their own tissue, give us graphic details and evidence that they were not killed on a whim but were part of a complex process for which they were selected some considerable time before,” said Wilson, a lecturer in archaeological sciences at the University of Bradford in Britain.
Ugh! Scary. And what’s worse is this part:
One extremely well preserved mummy—a 15-year-old girl known as “La Doncella” or the “Llullaillaco Maiden”—appears to have been selected for sacrifice a year in advance, Wilson said.
Tests show the Maiden—whose hair was 9.8 inches (25 centimeters) long, representing more than two years’ worth of growth—was raised mostly on a protein-poor “peasant diet” rich in potatoes.
“But 12 months before her death, her diet becomes protein rich,” Wilson said, adding that she was likely fed “elite” food such as maize and llama meat.
“We can equate a change in diet of this magnitude with a change in her status, one that occurred as part of her final demise.”
Apparently they only gave her some good grub once they had decided she would be sacrificed. How awful!
What do you think? How weird is this to you?
Science 
9 October 2007, 17:07
argentina, creepy, human sacrifice, incan girl, la doncella, llullaillaco girl, mummy, preserved, sacrificial preparation, Weird StuffYou can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
As scary or unpleasant as it may seem, it has been happening all the time throughout history. I’ve heard of many more cases like these, and they were not pretty. These sacrifices are based on the people’s beliefs, which may seem odd to us. Who knows, maybe that girl was honored or happy to be chosen to be sacrificed. o_o
@Mimee
Which makes it even creepier and weirder to Mari…
I think it’s only scary and creepy, because it seems so alien to us. Maybe the girl was honoured, and proud to be sacrificed to her gods.
And maybe the good food was just a bonus for her?
Ugh, creepy…
Well, I’m just telling you that I am changing hosts and ready for change
I’ll take a while moving so no rush here.
Aww, I’ll still visit and comment once in a while! Thanks for being my first and favourite host!
@Evie
Maybe. But that’s even creepier to think about! *shiver*
@Ashlee
Yeah. It would have been a better near-Hallowe’en post, huh?
Thanks for the heads up!
It seems creepy and scary to us because that way of thought and belief, for most of us in this day and age, is alien to us. I highly suspect though, especially given the fact that she was poor, the girl was quite proud and honored to have been chosen for a sacrifice. No doubt it also brought some prosperity to her family for being the family of a chosen one. No doubt in the girl’s mind all that was going through her mind was the thought that not only was she serving a higher purpose but she was also helping her people and her family.
I suppose that’s really weird to us but to these people it was their way of life. At the same time, this really shows to me how dangerous it can be to have a lot of people all thinking the same, that’s really the only way something like this could be possible, you know?
I never knew that the child sacrifices were prepared beforehand and as awful as that is, I think it makes it a little more humane knowing that they at least gave the children a year to prepare for what they were being forced to do. A lot of killers don’t do that, so I’m assuming they in an offbeat sort of way actually cared for the children they were about to kill?
Hmm. Anyhoo, thanks for the comment on my site, it was answered on there.