Hair and Sacrifice in the Andean World, as deduced by biomolecular approaches

Abstract

An individual’s first haircut is considered to be a major milestone in many world cultures and religions even today. It is interesting to note therefore that children placed as Inca child sacrifices in shrines on a number of the principal mountains in the Andes were found with many offerings, including small bags made of animal intestines containing cut human hair. The exceptional preservation of these young individuals offers huge potential for us to gain insight into the ritual process, given that most have remained in permafrost conditions since they were left on the mountain as part of the state-sanctioned Capacocha ceremony practised by the Inca.

Keywords

• Archaeology
• hair
• Inca
• Andean
• sacrifice
• Capacocha
• ceremony
• Llullaillaco Maiden
• Cuzco
• ritual
• bioarchaeology
• coca