A new study, applying modern forensic methods to the remains of three children sacrificed during an Inca Empire ritual 500 years ago, has shown that their deaths occurred differently than previously assumed. These bodies were found in Chile and preserved due to natural mummification in the low temperatures and arid climate of the Andes.
Archaeologists re-examined the cases of a boy found on Cerro El Plomo mountain in 1954 and two girls discovered in Cerro Esmeralda in 1976. For a long time, it was believed that the boy died from hypothermia at the summit, and the girls from suffocation. However, new analyses published in the journal Science Advances refute these assumptions.
According to the new findings, the boy was killed by blunt force trauma to the head. Regarding the girls from Cerro Esmeralda, the situation is more complex: the research team claims that the presumed signs of suffocation were actually caused by clothing post-mortem. This is supported by the fact that their neck bones showed no signs of fractures or dislocations typical of most strangulation cases. Currently, the cause of death for the girls is considered 'undetermined.'
These cases are known examples of the ancient Inca ritual known as capacocha. This practice involved long pilgrimages to sacred mountain peaks and remote sanctuaries where human sacrifices were performed. As preparation, the individuals chosen for the ceremony traveled thousands of kilometers through sacred Inca communities for months before death.
Veronica Silva-Pinto, an archaeologist from the National Museum of Natural History of Chile and author of the article, emphasizes that studying mummies must take into account the beliefs of the Andean peoples, who did not view death as the end of existence. The Inca sacrifice did not only involve children; young men and women were selected to appease the gods and sacred spirits of the mountains. Being chosen was considered a great honor for both the victims and their families. Silva-Pinto noted that 'the proposed individuals acquired a new ritual status and could become intermediaries between communities, mountains, deities, and the state.'
The study's results align with data from another article published in early 2026, which also studied Inca children's mummies and concluded that their deaths were violent. The boy from El Plomo, known as 'Niño de El Plomo', was sacrificed around 1480 when he was about 8 or 9 years old, near the summit of Cerro El Plomo in central Chile. The two girls, one about 9 years old and the other 18, were sacrificed approximately 30 years earlier, near the summit of the current Cerro Esmeralda in the Atacama Desert, northern Chile.
Archaeologists reached these conclusions through isotopic analysis of hair, teeth, and bones. Isotopes, being variations of a single atom, contain information about a person's diet. The proportions of different isotopes provide clues about where these children lived. Thus, specialists were able to reconstruct the movements of the victims for months before the sacrifice. The isotopes showed that the children traveled long distances between 'ecologically diverse regions.' It is estimated that Niño de El Plomo traveled between 2600 and 2800 kilometers over the last nine months, likely departing from Cusco, the Inca capital. The girls from Cerro Esmeralda presumably traveled between 900 and 1200 km over the last three months.
Silva-Pinto explains that 'local communities accepted pilgrims along the routes and participated in ceremonies related to the exchange of food and drink.' Nevertheless, bioarchaeologist Dagmar Socha from the University of Warsaw in Poland, who was not involved in the study, cautions against hasty conclusions. She notes that 'isotopic analysis itself does not allow for the precise reconstruction of a potential travel route.' According to her, isotopic variations are often not statistically significant and may only reflect seasonal changes in diet.
According to a study published in the journal Science Advances this month, the causes of death for three Inca children sacrificed about five hundred years ago differ from what archaeology had previously suggested.
Researchers conducted medical examinations of mummies preserved in Chile and determined that physical injuries and post-mortem traces cast doubt on existing theories regarding these rituals. Analyses of the bodies, which were well-preserved due to the cold and dryness of the Andes, refute old assumptions of death by frostbite or asphyxiation.
Modern technology has allowed secrets of Inca ceremonies to be revealed. In the case of an eight-year-old boy found in Cerro El Plomo, the hypothesis of death from hypothermia was ruled out. Computed tomography revealed skull fractures caused by impact from a heavy object, confirming direct violent action before burial in the mountains.
Regarding the two young girls discovered in Cerro Esmeralda, analysis showed they were not strangled, contrary to previous records. Neck bone studies did not reveal fractures or dislocations. Instead, marks on the neck were attributed to prolonged contact with clothing after death, leaving the exact cause of death undetermined.
A complex of advanced forensic methods, including dermatoscopy and histological skin analysis, was used to re-evaluate the remains. The application of these tools allowed for the study of the internal structure of the mummified bodies without damaging the preserved tissues.
Isotope chemical analysis in samples of hair, teeth, and bones helped map the diet and travel routes of the victims. The boy traveled a distance of 2.6 to 2.8 thousand kilometers from Cusco over nine months, while the girls covered up to 1.2 thousand kilometers in three months, participating in rituals with local populations along the way.
These pilgrimages were part of Capacocha—a ceremony of political and religious expansion through which the Inca Empire sacrificed human lives to sacred peaks. The investigation concluded that this practice transformed the selected individuals into sacred entities for mediation between communities, gods, and the state.
Researchers analyzed the strontium isotopic composition in the teeth of 152 freed Africans buried on Saint Helena island in the 19th century after being rescued from slave ships. This analysis helped confirm historical assumptions that most of these people may have originated from western regions of Central Africa, although individuals from other parts of the continent, including inland areas, were also present in the group.
From the 16th to the 19th century, spanning approximately four centuries, the transatlantic slave trade was active. According to historical estimates, about 17 million people were forcibly removed from Africa during this period, of whom approximately 12.5 million were planned to be transported to America. Europeans primarily took enslaved people from the ports of West Africa, where human resources were exchanged for various goods. A significant portion of Africans died before reaching the New World due to poor sanitary conditions, overcrowding, and other reasons; historians note that about 1.8 million out of 12.5 million did not survive the crossing of the Atlantic Ocean.
Saint Helena Island, located in the middle of the ocean, played an important role in the history of the slave trade, serving as a place where Africans were held as slaves for a long time. However, starting in 1840, the British, having already banned the slave trade, began using the island as a naval base to combat slave ships. Over 27 years, they landed about 27,000 freed Africans on the island. Most of them were sent to work in colonies as hired laborers, while only a small fraction were allowed to remain. Furthermore, about 8 out of the 27,000 freed people died shortly after arriving on the island.
In 2007–2008, during excavations preceding the construction of the airport on Saint Helena island, archaeologists discovered two large necropolises containing the remains of freed Africans. A total of 325 articulated skeletons and numerous scattered remains were found. Scientists from the UK, Denmark, China, the Netherlands, and the USA, led by Hannes Schröder from the University of Copenhagen, conducted a study to determine the strontium isotopic composition in the dental enamel of 152 individuals and establish their regions of origin.
The analyses showed that none of the individuals in the studied sample were born on Saint Helena island itself, confirming that the graves contained freed Africans who died shortly after arrival. Overall data confirmed historical accounts that most of these people originated from western regions of Central Africa, which was also supported by written sources and recent limited genetic analysis. Scientists were also able to determine that the people captured into slavery came not only from coastal areas but also from inland regions. For example, the sample included individuals likely born in a small region of Angola far from the sea. A small proportion of people might have originated from the interior of East or Southern Africa, but their share was insignificant.
The researchers concluded that most of the analyzed individuals were likely born within a few hundred kilometers of the coastline, although some may have traveled more than a thousand kilometers to the port. These findings align with eyewitness accounts that some captives traveled long distances to the ports from which slaves were shipped. Most of them apparently did not stay long in the coastal area. An exception was one man who lived for 19–25 years; the analysis of his teeth showed that he was likely born in the interior of Angola and then moved to the coastal area at the age of 7–9, where he lived long enough for it to be reflected in the ratio of light and heavy strontium isotopes.
Similar studies are also being conducted in the USA. Several years ago, geneticists studied the DNA of over thirty people whose graves were found in Charleston (South Carolina) and found that most of them likely originated from Western or western regions of Central Africa.
It is worth noting the study of the ancient Egyptian mummy 'The Braided Woman,' which scientists analyzed using computed tomography. This mummy is housed in an American museum, and researchers confirmed that it belonged to an adult woman who presumably lived during the XVIII–XXI dynasties and belonged to the non-royal elite. Scientists determined details of her body preparation for burial but did not find the cause of her early death. The results of this work were published in the journal Radiology Case Reports.
A group of researchers conducted a re-analysis of the mummies of three individuals sacrificed by the Incas during the Capacocha ritual. The analysis managed to refute previous assumptions that the cause of death for the girls from Cerro Esmeralda mountain was suffocation, although the exact cause of their demise could not be determined.
However, scientists confirmed that the boy known as 'Prince Plomo' from Cerro el Plomo mountain sustained a fatal head injury. This injury was inflicted by a blunt object, presumed to be a stone mace. All three mummies date to the 15th century AD according to new dating. The results of this study were published in the scientific journal Science Advances.
Ritual human sacrifices were practiced in various ancient cultures, including the Incas, whose empire existed in South America until the 16th century. One of the most famous such rites was Capacocha, which was performed during significant state events, such as the death of a ruler, a military victory, or a natural disaster. The ritual involved selecting children, adolescents, or young girls from different parts of the empire, transporting them to Cusco, where priests prepared for the sacrifice. Afterward, the victims were sent on a long foot journey to sacred places on the peaks of mountains and volcanoes, where they were either killed or left to die.
Veronica Silva-Pinto from the University of Valencia and her colleagues working in Austria, the UK, Germany, Spain, Chile, and South Africa presented data on the three Capacocha victims, whose mummies were found in Chile. Two mummies were discovered on Cerro Esmeralda mountain in northern Chile back in 1976; they belonged to a girl aged about 9–10 years and a girl aged approximately 18–19 years. The third mummy, the remains of a boy nicknamed Prince Plomo, was found in central Chile on Cerro el Plomo mountain in 1954, at an altitude of about 5400 meters above sea level. This boy was about 8–9 years old.
To study these victims, scientists conducted a comprehensive analysis: they examined the isotopic composition of hair, performed dermatoscopic examination of the skin, used computed tomography, and applied radiocarbon dating. Radiocarbon dating showed that all three individuals could have lived around the same time—in the 15th century. The average dates of death for the girls from Cerro Esmeralda mountain were 1440 and 1450 AD, and for the boy from Cerro el Plomo mountain—1480 AD. It was noted that previously established dates based on clothing were 100–160 radiocarbon years older, which may be related to the use of textiles in rituals that were significantly older than the victims themselves.
Multielemental hair analysis confirmed that all children and girls undertook long foot journeys before death. The little girl from Cerro Esmeralda mountain presumably traveled between 900 and 1200 kilometers over about five months. The girl covered a similar distance but slightly faster—in about two months. Prince Plomo traveled the longest distance, covering between 2600 and 2800 kilometers over nine months. It is assumed that local communities met the group during this pilgrimage and provided them with provisions.
It was previously believed that the girl and the girl from Cerro Esmeralda mountain were strangled using a noose, based on the presence of strangulation grooves on their necks. However, the new research showed that these marks likely have a different origin, and there are no signs of mechanical asphyxia on the mummies, although the true cause of death remains unknown. At the same time, scientists confirmed that the boy from Cerro el Plomo mountain received a severe blow to the frontal bone from a blunt object. Furthermore, CT scans revealed food residue on the child's clothing, which is likely a result of vomiting induced by acute traumatic brain injury. As part of the Capacocha ritual, the Incas administered hallucinogenic substances to the victims; analysis of the hair and nails of the boy and girl sacrificed on Mount Ampato (Peru) showed the use of coca and ayahuasca in the final weeks of their lives.
Separately, British researchers analyzed human remains found on the English island of Wight during excavations of a Roman villa. They concluded that the scattered bones of several people might be linked to one or more violent incidents that occurred between 250 and 400 AD. One hypothesis suggests that the villa residents may have been affected during the harsh repression by Emperor Constantius II against former supporters of the usurper Magnentius. This information is presented in an article published in the journal Britannia.
