Aconcagua mummy

The Aconcagua mummy is an Incan qhapaq hucha mummy of a seven-year-old boy, dated to around 500 BP.[1] The mummy is well-preserved, due to the extreme cold and dry conditions of its high altitude burial location.[2] The frozen mummy was discovered by hikers in 1985 at 5,300 m (17,400 ft) on Aconcagua in Mendoza, Argentina.[1][2]

Discovery

The Aconcagua mummy was buried inside a semicircular stone structure[3] and found covered in vomit, red pigment, and fecal remains.[4] The body was wrapped in textiles in a style derived from central coastal Peru.[5] Six statuettes were also found buried with the body.[1]

An analysis shows that the boy's diet consisted primarily of maize, quinoa, capsicum, potatoes, and terrestrial meat. A year and a half before his death, his diet became more marine-based.[4] The presence of achiote was also found inside his stomach and colon.[5]

mtDNA evidence

DNA was extracted from a 350 mg (5.4 gr) sample from one of his lungs.[1] His mtDNA lineage belongs to a subgroup of Haplogroup C1b, the previously unidentified C1bi (i for Inca).[1] His mtDNA lineage contains 10 distinct mutations from C1b.[1] The researchers determined that Haplogroup C1bi likely arose around 14,300 years ago.[1] An individual from the Wari Empire was found to be a match for this previously unidentified haplogroup.[1][2]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Gómez-Carballa & Catelli 2015.
  2. 1 2 3 Wade 2015.
  3. ↑ Ceruti 2015.
  4. 1 2 Faux 2012.
  5. 1 2 Cassman 2007, p. 144.

Bibliography

  • Cassman, Vicki (2007). Human Remains: Guide for Museums and Academic Institutions. Rowman Altamira. ISBN 978-0759109551.
  • Ceruti, Maria Constanza (2015). "Frozen Mummies from Andean Mountaintop Shrines: Bioarchaeology and Ethnohistory of Inca Human Sacrifice". BioMed Research International. 2015. doi:10.1155/2015/439428. ISSN 2314-6133. PMC 4543117. PMID 26345378.
  • Faux, Jennifer L. (2012). "Hail the Conquering Gods: Ritual Sacrifice of Children in Inca Society". Journal of Contemporary Anthropology. 3 (1).
  • Gómez-Carballa, Alberto; Catelli, Laura (November 12, 2015). "The complete mitogenome of a 500-year-old Inca child mummy". Scientific Reports. 5. doi:10.1038/srep16462.
  • Wade, Lizzie (12 November 2015). "Inca child mummy reveals lost genetic history of South America". AAAS. Retrieved 17 November 2015.
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