According to a study published in the latest issue of the journal Antiquity, archaeologists have discovered a mysterious funeral ritual performed by the Incas 500 years ago in the Chincha Valley of Peru, in which about 200 human vertebrae are strung on reeds. Experts say such funeral rites have never been recorded and may have been a bizarre attempt to "reconstruct the dead."
Schematic map of the location of the Chincha Valley with Lima, the capital of Peru.
The location of the Chincha Valley in the Kingdom of Chincha.
Radiocarbon measurements reportedly show that this peculiar funerary took place between about 1450 and 1650, when the Incas's rule over the region ended, European colonization began, and looting of indigenous graves for gold and silver was widespread throughout the Chincha Valley, the researchers said.
The bones of the spine are strung on reed poles in order to "rebuild the dead".
The skewering of the vertebrae on a reed pole was carried out after the initial burial in order to "rebuild the dead", perhaps because the grave was destroyed by looters.
The 16th century was a turbulent time in the history of the region. From 1000 to 1400, the region was the seat of the Kingdom of Chincha, after which they formed an alliance with the Inca Empire and were eventually incorporated into the Inca Empire.
Aboriginal tombs have been looted and destroyed by tomb robbers.
However, this part of southern Peru was devastated by the arrival of Europeans, and the local population was decimated by infectious diseases and famine, from more than 30,000 households in 1533 to only 979 households left in 1583.
The international team of researchers found 192 examples of "vertebrae on reeds" in the valley, most of them in large, elaborate indigenous graves known as chullpas, and there are hundreds of such graves in the region.
Dr. Jacob L. Bongers of the University of East Anglia, the study's lead author, said that during the colonial period, looting of aboriginal graves was common throughout the Chincha Valley, with the main purpose of looting being to obtain burial items made of gold and silver. Further analysis of the vertebrae on the reeds suggested that it was probably to repair the damage caused by looting, and people returned to chullpas to "rebuild" the dead.
Postmortem body integrity is known to be important to many indigenous groups in the region. Nearby Chinchorro developed the first known artificial mummification technique, thousands of years before ancient Egypt.
Text/Nandu reporter Chen Lin