Assessing Systemic Stress from Archaeological Hormones Recovered from Hair of Human Sacrifices at Huanchaquito Las Llamas, Peru (~1450 CE)

Summary

This is an abstract from the "SAA 2023: Individual Abstracts" session, at the 88th annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology.

Excavations at the Peruvian northern coastal site of Huanchaquito-Las Llamas (HLL) revealed the largest mass human sacrifice event in the Americas, with more than 400 sacrificed children, women, and camelids governed under the Chimú State. Dated to the Chimú’s imperial decline (circa 1450 CE), preliminary genetic analyses indicate that these children were drawn from multiple regions and ethnic groups throughout the empire. Based on the frequency and location of the cut marks, their hearts were cut from their chests while they were still alive. While the motivation for such a massive sacrifice is a subject for further research, the archaeological evidence suggests that it was associated with massive flooding linked to a cataclysmic El Niño climatic event. Due to the excellent preservation of soft tissues in the dry coastal Andes, we use nuanced methods to reconstruct the sacrificed individuals’ life histories and quality of life leading up to their execution. This paper investigates hormone production to assess systemic stress to elucidate the change in cortisol production prior to sacrifice.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• SAA 2023: Individual Abstracts   •
• Society for American Archaeology 88th Annual Meeting, Portland, OR (2023)

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Record Identifiers

Abstract Id(s): 37288.0