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Interpretations of Pre-Hispanic Ritual Violence at Tucume, Peru, from Cut Mark Analysis

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  20 January 2017

J. Marla Toyne
J. Marla Toyne*
Affiliation:
University of Central Florida, Department of Anthropology, 4000 Central Florida Blvd., Howard Phillips Hall Room 309, Orlando, FL 32816-1361 ([email protected])
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Abstract

Archaeological residues of ritual are often ephemeral, and reconstructing the dynamics of performed actions that create deposits can be difficult. Rituals associated with the dead are common across many cultures since all human groups have specific means of disposing of corpses. Evidence of peri- and postmortem manipulation of human remains, such as cutting, dismemberment, or disarticulation can provide details of the sequence of actions performed related to the circumstances surrounding death and the possible social meaning of those behaviors. Cut marks observed on the upper chest and throat of 93 percent of 117 children and men found interred at the Temple of the Sacred Stone at Túcume, Peru are consistent with three symbolic behaviors: cutting the throat, opening the chest cavity, and decapitation. This patterning of skeletal trauma demonstrates that a highly elaborate series of violent ritual behaviors was carried out on a regular basis at this location, beginning in the Late Intermediate Period (∼A.D. 1100) through to the end of the Late Horizon Inca occupation of the site around A.D. 1532. The recent finds of bioarchaeological evidence of ritual violence across the Andes suggests that, although rare, these mortuary remains provide important clues to the elaborate nature of ritual behaviors at different sites.

Resumen

Resumen

Los contextos de sacrificios humanos son poco frecuentes en la arqueología, y generalmente es difícil interpretar las acciones rituales que los originaron. La manipulación peri y postmortem de estos restos humanos nos proporciona información referente a complejas ceremonias y su significado social. Las huellas de corte observadas en la parte superior del pecho y garganta en el 93 por ciento de los 117 niños y hombres jóvenes, hallados en el Templo de la Piedra Sagrada en Túcume, Perú, son consistentes con tres comportamientos simbólicos: degollamiento, apertura de la cavidad toráxica y decapitación. Este patrón de trauma óseo demuestra que una serie elaborada de violentas acciones rituales fue llevada a cabo regularmente en este lugar, empezando en el Periodo Intermedio Tardío (ca. 1100 d.C.) hasta el final de la ocupación Inca en el sitio, hacia el Horizonte Tardío alrededor de 1532 d.C.

Type
Themed Section on the Bioarchaeololgy of Ritual Violence
Information
Latin American Antiquity , Volume 22 , Issue 4 , December 2011 , pp. 505 - 523
Copyright
Copyright ©2011 by the Society for American Archaeology.

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