Toxicological analysis of 500-year-old mummies from Peru and Argentina has revealed that Inca sacrifice victims were given cocaine, alcohol and possibly ayahuasca before their deaths. The findings, published in the journal Antiquity, shed new light on the capacocha, one of the most sacred ceremonies in the Inca Empire.
Researchers tested hair and nail samples from eight mummified individuals found at mountain shrines. Cocaine was detected in all eight, confirming they had consumed coca leaves, while four also showed evidence of alcohol consumption, possibly from chicha, a traditional fermented maize drink.
Ceremonial substances detected
The study was led by Dr Dagmara Socha from the University of Warsaw. The preserved remains offered a rare opportunity to investigate the substances used during capacocha ceremonies, which involved the sacrifice of children and young women as offerings to important deities.
Chemicals consumed during life can become embedded in keratin structures of hair and nails, allowing identification through toxicological analysis. The research team analysed samples from mummies recovered from several mountains in Peru and Argentina, representing different sacrificial practices across the Inca Empire.
Ayahuasca trace in Lady of Ampato
One of the most striking discoveries came from the remains of the Lady of Ampato, also known as Juanita, found on a mountain in southern Peru. Researchers detected traces of harmine, an alkaloid associated with Banisteriopsis species, plants traditionally used in the preparation of ayahuasca, a psychoactive ceremonial drink.
Dr Socha said the finding may indicate that a harmine-containing beverage had a specific role in ceremonies connected with that particular sacred mountain. The discovery suggests different substances may have been selected for ceremonies at particular sacred sites.
Ritual varied across the empire
The findings indicate that the substances given to sacrificed individuals varied considerably, suggesting the capacocha was not conducted according to one standardised procedure throughout the empire. Instead, the ceremonies appear to have been adapted to local religious traditions and the particular deities or sacred mountains involved.
Historical accounts suggest those selected for sacrifice were sometimes given psychoactive substances, possibly to enhance their perceived prophetic abilities or alter their state of consciousness before death. Coca may also have helped the children cope with altitude sickness and exhaustion during long journeys to high-altitude shrines.
Dr Socha concluded: "Five hundred years after these children were sacrificed during one of the most important Inca rituals, new technologies are allowing us to uncover details of their lives and Inca religious practices. What we are seeing is that the capacocha was not a single standardized ritual, but rather, the Incas appear to have adapted it to different cults and local religious traditions."
