Abstract
We report on the analysis of a red pigment found in a lavish Inca burial from Cerro Esmeralda, Chile, associated with the human sacrifice of two young girls. The outcome shows that the red pigment is mainly cinnabar, with 95% of HgS content. Cinnabar is rarely found in the archaeological record of Chile. Thus, we propose that our results are another line of evidence supporting Iquique's Cerro Esmeralda inhumation as a unique Inca ritual. It was a special lower-elevation capacocha burial, most probably undertaken to politically and symbolically incorporate the coastal people into the Tawantinsuyo Empire.
Original language | English |
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Pages (from-to) | 1324-1333 |
Number of pages | 10 |
Journal | Archaeometry |
Volume | 60 |
Issue number | 6 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - Dec 2018 |
Keywords
- Cerro Esmeralda
- Raman spectroscopy
- SEM
- ancient poisoning
- mercury
- mortuary rituals
- red pigments