Capacocha

Children selected for sacrifice in capacocha ceremonies were of both sexes, and were provided to the state as tribute by local communities on a yearly basis.[7][11] No region was exempt from the recruitment of these child sacrifices; they could come from any region of the empire.[5] The male victims were no older than ten and girls could be up to age sixteen but must be a virgin when chosen; they had to be perfect, unblemished by even a freckle or scar.[12][7][11] The Inca believed that only the purest children were worthy enough to be sent to the gods, as in the afterlife they would function as the people's representatives.[7] For many families it was a great honor to have one's child chosen for the ceremony, and it was often children from noble families that were sacrificed in an effort to gain political favor with the emperor.[13][7][11]

While the boys were immediately brought to Cuzco, the young girls, called aclla, taken for sacrifice were often entrusted to the mama-kuna, in the "House of Chosen Women" (aqlla wasi).[14] Chosen for their looks, the girls stayed at this institution for an extended period of time and were taught, under the tutelage of priestesses, how to weave, sew, and prepare special ritual beverages called chicha.[7][11] The mama-kuna women were compared to nuns by many Spanish men, as they lived celibate lives, serving the gods.[14] Typically around the age of 14 the girls would be divided into three groups.[7][11] Some girls were consecrated as priestesses and went on to raise the girls brought after them, and the prettiest were often sent as tribute to be sacrificed in state capacocha ceremonies.[14][11][7] Otherwise, the girls were offered to the emperor in Cuzco as servants or concubines; or were distributed amongst the noblemen as secondary wives.[14][11][7]

The capacocha sacrifice started at the capital city of Cuzco, on the order of the Sapa Inca. The first Sapa Inca to do this sacrifice was Pachacuti.[15][14] During the festivities of the Capacocha in Cuzco, it was decided what type and quantity of offerings each shrine or wak'a would receive, of which the Incas maintained a clear record. The tributes were fed well, and those too young to eat would have their mothers with them to breastfeed.[12] This was to ensure that they would be well fed and happy when they prepared to reach the gods.[12] The children were paired off, girl and boy, and dressed finely like little royals.[5] They were paraded around four large statues, of the Creator, the Sun God, the Moon God, and the Thunder God.[5] The Sapa Inca would say to the priests then to divide the children, along with the other sacrifices, in four, for each of the four suyu regions.[5] He would then order the priests to make their sacrifices at their main wak'akuna.[5]

After the ceremonies at Cusco, the children, the priests and their entourage of companions undertook the trip back to their communities. When they returned, they did not follow the royal road, or the Inca road, as they had gone, but they had to follow a path in a straight line, possibly following the ceque lines that left Cusco and went to the wak'akuna. This was a long and tedious journey, crossing valleys, rivers and mountains, which could take months.[16]

Once at the summit the young victims would then be administered an intoxicating drink or other substance to either induce sleep or a stupor, ostensibly to let the final ritual go on smoothly.[8] If the ceremony was carried out in a particularly cold place, they could die from hypothermia,[10] in other cases death was provoked in a more violent manner, such is the case of the Aconcagua child, with a strong blow to the head,[17] as well as that of the girl at Sara Sara and the young woman from the snowy Ampato,[18] while the cause of death of the "Queen of the Hill" was a puncture wound in the right hemithorax, which entered through her back.[19] While in some cases, as in Llullaillaco, the bodies were deposited in a burial chamber and covered with gravel,[20] or, in the case of Cerro El Plomo, the sacrificial victim was wrapped in a complex funerary bundle of several pieces with a specific function and message,[21] as in the case of Aconcagua.[22]

When the sacrifices of children and material offerings were buried, the holes could not be made using any metal, but in the ceremony dug out using sharpened sticks.[12] Once dead, the children would then be buried in a fetal position, wrapped up in a bundle with various artifacts within the bundle or next to it in the same grave.

A number of offerings were often left with the sacrificed individuals at the sites of capacocha ceremonies. The human body itself was often finely dressed and clothed in a feathered headdress and other ornamentation such as a necklace or bracelet.[11] The most elaborate artifacts were typically paired human statuettes and llama figurines that have been crafted with gold, silver, and spondylus shells.[5] The combination of both male and female figurines alongside the use of both gold and silver was likely meant to pay tribute to the male Sun and the female Moon.[5] Several sets of ceramics as well as gold, silver, and bronze pins were relatively commonplace too.[4] A large amount of cloth was a typical find at capacocha sites too.[4] Some objects that often appear such as plates and bowls have often been found in pairs.[11] Alongside these objects are sometimes found food items.[11] All objects, animals, and people sacrificed to a wak'a, not only represented Inca symbols but were also previously legitimized in ceremonies conducted by the emperor himself.[23]

One of the mummies recovered from Llullaillaco.

One particularly noteworthy site was found near the summit of Mount Llullaillaco, a volcano in Argentina that lies near the Chilean border.[28] This mountain appears to have been the site of the conclusion of a capacocha ceremony, taking place at an elevation of around 6,739 meters above sea level.[7] In 1999, the mummies of three relatively young individuals were found at the top of the mountain alongside a diverse assemblage of artifacts.[4] Excavations around the main ceremonial structure, a rectangular platform, revealed the burials of a young girl of about 14 years of age, a girl of about 6 years of age, and a boy of about 7 years of age along with over 100 offerings of various materials.[11][4] Due to the frigid conditions, both the mummies and the materials were well preserved.[11] Some of the notable artifacts found at the site include a feathered headdress, well-made clothing, a number of ceramics, bowls and spoons made of wood, various food items, figurines made out of gold, silver, and spondylus, and other metal objects such as pins.[11]

Due to the preservation of the children, a number of studies could be undertaken from their remains. Hair samples indicate that the diets of the children underwent a momentous change in the year before their deaths.[4] This helps to indicate the care with which children were treated during their travels throughout the empire prior to their ultimate sacrifice.[4] Other changes in the isotopes found in the hair samples indicate that the children began their procession to the mountain several months prior to their death.[4]

Another noteworthy capacocha site is present near the summit of the extinct Quehuar volcano, reaching an altitude of 6,130 meters in northwestern Argentina.[11][9] At the top of the mountain is a raised ceremonial platform, or ushnu, attached to a frontal ramp near a circular walled structure.[29][11][9][7] Various offerings and a sacrificial victim were found contained within the walled structure. However, prior to archeological excavation, the platform, the walled structure, and its contents had been damaged by looters with dynamite.[29][11][9][7] Through DNA and x-ray long bone analysis the body was identified as the remains of an approximately 12-year-old female.[11][9] However, partial destruction of the body by dynamite made it impossible to determine her cause of death.[9] It is believed that the sacrificial victim was buried with the clothing she wore at the moment of her death, and then wrapped post-mortem into a bundle with outer textiles.[11] This trend has also been documented in the Llullaillaco and Aconcagua sites.[11]

Scattered offerings recovered from the area included textiles, pottery shards, food, and the remains of a sacrificed camelid.[11][9][7] Additionally, a small bundle of offerings was discovered containing sandals, cutlery, wooden and ceramic dishes, food items, a comb, and coal.[11] Furthermore, a damaged tunic[11][9] and a small female figurine made of spondylus shell (dressed in miniature versions of cumbi clothes) was recovered from the platform.[29][11][9] The presence of the spondylus shell at the site is thought to be an offering for fertility, and is also characteristic of the Llullaillaco, Esmeralda, Chuscha, and Aconcagua sites.[9]

The Ampato summit rises up to 6,312 meters in southern Peru, with a funerary complex located at 5,852 meters.[29][13][6][7][30] Four capacocha sacrifices were found at this site, representing two distinct ceremonies.[29][13][6][30] The first sacrifice discovered was a girl estimated to be between 13 and 15 years old (based upon her tooth development),[31] popularly referred to as "Juanita" or "The Ampato Ice Maiden."[31][4][6][9][7] DNA testing determined that Juanita was related to individuals living in northern Peru and Argentina, and was likely not related to villages near Ampato.[31][7] Juanita's body was discovered 70 meters below the summit, where she presumably landed after the collapse of her funerary platform.[29][6][7] She was wrapped in high quality decorated textiles and surrounded by her funerary assemblage, including pottery, chuspas (some containing coca leaves or hair), llama bones, and four female figurines crafted from spondylus shell.[4][29][6][7][30] A needle biopsy of Juanita's stomach revealed that she had been fed a large meal of vegetables around 6 to 8 hours before her sacrifice.[31] Additionally, a CT scan indicated she was killed with a blow to the head.[31][4][13][9][6][7]

The other three capacocha sacrifices interred at Ampato were found marked by stone circles within the funerary complex, and were all between the ages of 8 and 12.[29][4][6][30] Two girls and one boy were discovered, all three of which were likely sacrificed during the same ceremony based on the positionality and proximity of the burials.[29][13][6][30] The burial of the first girl found at the site was unusual compared to other capacocha burials, as six pots had been ritually broken on her grave.[29][6] Her body was dressed with a macaw feather headdress and sandals, and was buried with numerous ceramic vessels, figurines, cups, spoons, and weaving tools.[4][29][6][30] The male child was adorned with a vegetable fiber headdress[7][30] and had elongated pierced earlobes, indicating he may have been the son of an elite family.[6] He was buried with ceramic vessels, cups, and a male figurine.[29][6][7][30] The second female body found was also buried with multiple ceramic vessels, as well as a female figurine crafted from spondylus shell.[29][6][30] All three mummies had been damaged by lightning strikes, preventing soft tissue research from being done on their bodies.[13][7][30][6]