An intriguing unexampled find in Peru shows ritually sacrifice guinea fuzz were decorated with colorful earrings and necklaces by sixteenth - century Incas — a finding that comes as a complete surprise to archaeologists .
Newresearchpublished in the International Journal of Osteoarchaeology name an extraordinary find at the Tambo Viejo situation in southerly Peru . The Incas constructed several administrative centers in the area , Tambo Viejo being one of them . Archaeologist Lidio Valdez from the Institute of Andean Studies , with financial backing from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada , uncovered 100 ritually sacrificed guinea sloven at two different locations at the site .
This is a big deal unto itself , in that it ’s the first bona fide archaeological evidence to support observation recorded by early Spanish colonizers of the Americas , namely the mass killing of guinea fowl squealer during rite . As such , the 100 guinea pigs at Tambo Viejo “ symbolise the individual largest find make out for the intact former [ Inca ] district , ” wrote Valdez in the subject . The ritual killings happened around 400 old age ago , some two centuries after the arrival of Europeans to the New World .
A sacrificed guinea pig found at Tambo Viejo. Arid conditions contributed to the exquisite preservation of the remains, dated to 400 years ago.Image: (Lidio Valdez)
The more singular aspect of the discovery , however , has to do with something scholars of Inca history have never seen before . The dago squealer find at the situation were decorated with earring and necklace made from coloured string . Some were even wrapped in cotton rugs like a sushi whorl .
“ Every sentence one moil [ at Tambo Viejo ] the findings are unexampled , indicate that there is much to learn about the past , ” explain Valdez in an electronic mail to Gizmodo . “ In this caseful , something that was never seen before are the ornament guinea pigs . Colorful string were localize around the cervix of the animals as necklaces and other strings in the ears . ”
A totality of 72 guinea pigs were found within an Inca structure , with another 28 at a different location nearby . Colors of the drawing string include orange , crimson , purple , and brownish . The guinea pigs likely asphyxiate after being buried live ; no signs of trauma were seeable on the beast . Some were laid out individually , others in pairs , or even mathematical group . modest branches of a bush know as chilco were place next to the sacrificed beast , and some charcoal grey find out buried nearby suggests flaming was used during the ritual . Republic of Guinea pigs of various colors were include , let in full black guinea fowl grunter .
A sacrificed guinea pig found at Tambo Viejo.Image: (Lidio Valdez)
Interestingly , 66 of the 72 greaseball slob at the first web site , and 27 of 28 at the second site , were juveniles . These numbers “ powerfully signal that there was a high druthers for the sacrifice of younger animals over older ones , ” wrote Valdez in the work , of which he is the lone author . Guinea pig were domesticate at least 5,000 years ago , Valdez differentiate Gizmodo , comprise “ an authoritative element of Andean refinement , next to coca leave-taking and chicha , ” the latter being ferment beverages . The new guinea hog , he said , may have been privilege because of their tender meat , and possibly due to important symbolic associations with youth .
For the ritual , clean-living sand was brought from a nearby river to bury the sacrificial creature . This , along with the juiceless , arid conditions of the area , allowed for the excellent conservation of the animals . After the greaseball pigs were swallow , a clay story from an Inca dwelling was constructed on top of them , “ thus sealing the offer animals , ” wrote Valdez in the field of study . Looking at some of the specimens pull from the web site , the animals appear as if they were buried recently , while the colors of the chain are still vibrant .
As to why the Incas sacrificed guinea pigs , Valdez said the rationality are n’t immediately obvious , but he was felicitous to propose some theory .
“ The Incas — and the peoples who derive long before them — regularly provided offerings to anything that was sacred and therefore authoritative to them , ” he evidence Gizmodo . “ The reasoning was that everything in nature is active and that nothing could be taken without reciprocating . So , the Incas believed that reciprocity was full of life to uphold a good kinship with nature . I believe that some of the animals were embellish likely because they represented some sort of extra gift and not something that was done because it had to be . ”
Guinea pigs , he tell , were only one of the many type of offerings chip in up by the Incas . At the same site , Valdez uncovered offerings of maize , chili , peppers , and llamas .
Edward Swenson , an anthropologist at the University of Toronto who was n’t involved with the new inquiry , was struck by the determination , saying he ’d never see anything quite like it . The coloration of the guinea pigs , earring , and necklaces , he said , likely conveyed significant symbolism , as color coding was of import in Inca ritualism . Fascinatingly , Swenson suspects the dressed - up guinea pig served as substitutes for world , and they may have been treated in very mortal - alike ways .
“ Perhaps the earrings , necklace , and wrappings intended to humanise the offerings , ” write Swenson in an electronic mail to Gizmodo . “ The Spanish accounts of the [ ritual ] forfeit of shaver — which has been confirmed archaeologically – reported that tyke were inhume live , standardized to the young wop pigs of this study . ”
In damage of the sacrifice itself , Swenson suspect the guinea pigs were proffer as foundation sacrifices at Tambo Viejo to animate or protect the buildings under which they were invest — a common practice in the Andes , both past and present , he suppose .
“ However , to my knowledge , guinea pig are rarely used in such fundament deposits , as llamas are more vulgar . It is too uncollectible the authors did not offer additional information on the function and layout of the two principal construction , but perhaps that will be the subject of another article , ” he say .
And indeed , that ’s very likely . Valdez told Gizmodo that he ’s leaving for Peru to further inquire items find at the site . Intriguingly , it appears some of the llamas found swallow at Tambo Viejo were decorate as well . This land site , it would appear , still has stories to narrate .
[ International Journal of OsteoarchaeologyviaNewsweek ]
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