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 **THE BURIALS OF PACHACAMAC** Daniel Alden Pachacamac was one of (if not) the most important sites in Peru to both the Huari and the Inca. It was the site of pilgrimage for thousands, and a place of great reverence. As such, burials at such a site are viewed with particular interested, for if one is to buried here, that shows importance not simply in the interred, but also for the style and context in the burial itself. These burials can tell archaeologists many things about a site and culture, which can lead to correcting errors or erroneous accounts in history. Before going into detail on the burials, it is important to have a brief idea of what Pachacamac was, where it was located, and why it was influential. Pachacamac is located in the Central Coastal region of Peru, just south of Lima, off the Río Lurin. The site dates back to the Early Intermediate Period, which took place from 200 B.C. to about 600 A.D., and lasted until a few years after Spanish contact. It acted as a principle site for the Huari through the Middle Horizon period, as well as the Inca. Pachacamac acted as a site of great pilgrimage, seen as the housing or seat of a god by the same name, as well as housing an oracle. It was structured completely for processions to held, with large, open areas leading to a main center within the compound. After the decline of the Huari, the Inca took control of Pachacamac, and held it in great reverence as a site of pilgrimage, constructing the Temple of the Sun within it.**Fig.1**: **Pachacamac**
 * Introduction**
 * Overview**

There have been a vast amount of burials discovered in Pachacamac. The typical burials found at Pachacamac not involved in sacrifice, are typically singular burials, although secondary burials/interments are found. The bodies are put into a flex position, and bundled using textiles. The bundles were then stuffed with leaves from avocado or //pacae// trees, and a frame was made to structure the one or more shrouds put over it. A false head, made either of wood or pottery, with seashells inlayed as eyes, was then placed at the top of the burial “bale”. This careful process of wrapping and bundling the body shows intentional preservation and belief in an afterlife. Grave goods are placed outside or along with the body inside the bundle, and usually consist of ceramics, baskets containing food stuffs, wine gourds, as well as fishing and farming implements. Tombs were constructed from bricks and stones, which acted as the walls and ceilings surrounding the interred. It is presumed that these burials were strictly for wealthy pilgrims to the site. Due to fragility of these bundles, the use of modern technology, such as X-rays, has been used to view the contents with out damaging or destroying them. **Fig.2**: **Pachacamac mummy** **Animal Sacrifice and Burial Rituals** The most common depictions found in Pachacamac burials are those of animals. Animals are often depicted on ceramic vessels used as burial goods, and the textiles used as shrouds to cover and wrap the bodies of the dead. The most common depictions were of birds, serpents, and fish, but other animals, namely jaguars and stingrays, were also depicted. Aside from depictions, animals also played a role of sacrifice at Pachacamac. During the course of several excavations, numerous amounts of mummified parrots were found in their own bundle. Monkeys were also found mummified and bundled.
 * Burial Rituals**

Further evidence of human sacrifice includes infant sacrifice. Infants were taken, bundled, and buried while still alive. Grave goods were very elaborate, and there were multiple secondary burials. This evidence coincides with ethnohistoric accounts found in Cuzco, where records report that children from throughout the empire were called to pilgrimage sites, and used as sacrifices, sometimes even being returned home to be sacrificed. Some sacrifices took place after war. After a great victory, captives would be taken and brutally killed. Their bodies received no special attention, and typically were just discarded into a tomb or enclosure, with no real attention brought to body position or arrangement. As is similar to many societies, especially in the Peruvian region, the bodies of the sacrifices were sometimes even used as mortar in wall or building constructions.
 * Human Sacrifice at Pachacama** Human sacrifice was a very infrequent part of Incan life, only conducted in times of dire need, such as famines, epidemics, or major defeats in war. Up until the end of the nineteenth century, it was believed that the Inca never practiced human sacrifice, based solely on the testimony of Garcilaso de la Vega, the son of an Inca princess. In 1896 to 1897, Max Uhle began excavating Pachacamac. During this time, he uncovered a number of bodies in the entrance way of the Temple of the Sun. The bodies arranged very carefully, their clothes were still on, and were buried with very elaborate grave goods. Upon closer inspection, it was discovered that all the women had ligature marks around their necks. These women were soon identified by Uhle as //acalls//, or “chosen women”, and were used as sacrificial offerings. This area, now known as the Cemetery of the Sacrificed Women, was the first evidence used to refute Garcilaso’s account.

**Fig. 3**: **Pachacamac Baby Mummy**

There were two different forms of ritual we find applied to sacrificial bodies at Pachacamac. On the one side, you have women and infant sacrifice. During this process, the sacrifice is killed in a “non-traumatic”, or non-violent, fashion, such as strangulation or being buried alive. A great deal of attention goes into the body cleansing, preparation and arrangement, as well as the tomb surrounding the interred. Grave goods are typically elaborate, and the bodies are entombed in or around a temple or sacred area. The other form of burial is attributed to prisoners of war. Almost always men, these sacrifices suffer a traumatic, violent death; that of being bludgeoned to death. There is little to no regard to the preparation or arrangement of the bodies, and they receive no burial goods placed with them. These deaths are done to large groups at a time, during a ceremony.

Pachacamac was a very important site all throughout the history of the pre-Colombian Peru, and continues to be a spot of pilgrimage today. Without this site, data refuting false accounts would never have been found as early as it was, allowing for further explanation of evidence found throughout the Incan Empire and the Andes. The burials show the range of transformation in the site during different periods and cultural rule, whether in the tomb construction, burial goods, or body positioning. The depiction of animals in ceremonial burial materials show several important aspects of the cultures at the site; prevalence of sea creatures show a strong reliance on the ocean like that of many coastal societies, while, on the opposite spectrum, the depiction of jaguars, serpents, and birds show a strong migration from the forest areas, showing the range of importance of the Pachacamac.
 * Conclusion**

In terms of how different bodies were prepared and handled, whether in terms of post-mortems rites or sacrificial practices, animal or human, this shows the views held by the cultures at the site what held tribute and esteem, and how they viewed what was necessary in the afterlife. Through uncovering and researching burials, we discover not only the rituals of the society, but how they viewed life after death. Benson, Elizabeth P. 1997. //Birds and Beasts of Ancient Latin America,// p74: University Press of Florida
 * Works Cited**

Eeckhout, Peter, Lawrence Stewart Owens. 2008. //"Human sacrifice at Pachacamac.(Report)."// __Latin American Antiquity__ 19.4 (Dec 2008): p375(24). __General OneFile__. Gale. University of Central Florida. 30 Apr. 2009 . :

Flemming, Stuart J.; Miller, W.T.; Brahin, J.L. 1983. //"The Mummies of Pachacamac, Peru",// MASCA Journal, Vol 2, p39-45

Moseley, Michael E. 2001 //The Incas and their ancestors : the Archaeology of Peru.//, Rev ed. p17,19 Thames & Hudson, London ; New York.

Rowe, John Howland 1995. //“Behavior// //and Belief in Ancient Peruvian Mortuary Practices”,// Tombs for the Living: Andean Mortuary Practices: A Symposium at Dumbarton Oaks 12th and 13th of October 1991. p38: Dambarton Oaks Trustees for Harvard University

Verano, John W. 1995. //“Where Do They Rest? The Treatment of Human Offerings and Trophies in Ancient Peru”,// Tombs for the Living: Andean Mortuary Practices: A Symposium at Dumbarton Oaks 12th and 13th of October 1991. p190: Dambarton Oaks Trustees for Harvard University