An Inca mummy known as the Ice Maiden consumed increasing amounts of cocaine and alcohol in her last year of life, a new study shows.
Three Inca children found mummified atop a 20,000-foot volcano in South America consumed increasing amounts of coca leaf and corn beer for up to a year before they were sacrificed, according to a new study.
Sedation by the plant and alcohol combined with the frigid, high-altitude setting may explain how the children were killed. There is no evidence for direct violence, the researchers noted.
The coca leaf and corn beer consumption rises about six months before death and then skyrockets in the final weeks, especially for the eldest, a 13-year-old girl known as the "Ice Maiden."
"She was probably heavily sedated by the point at which she succumbs to death," Andrew Wilson, an archaeologist at the University of Bradford in the United Kingdom and the study's lead author, told NBC News.
The finding is based on detailed analyses of hair taken from the more than 500-year-old mummified remains, which also include a four-year-old girl and a five-year-old boy. The boy and girl were perhaps the maiden's attendants.
The data corroborate earlier research showing the children ate more meat and corn in their final year. Taken together, the studies suggest the peasant children were selected for the ritual sacrifice and lived a high-status life until their death near the top of the Llullaillacao Volcano in Argentina, Wilson said.
He and colleagues present the new analysis in a paper published Monday in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
The corn beer chicha and coca leaf, the plant that contains cocaine, are prominent features of Andean culture, so finding their signature "is not a surprise in itself," John Verano, an anthropologist at Tulane University in New Orleans who was not involved in the new study, told NBC News.
"But it is particularly interesting the level of detail at which (the researchers) are able to look at it," he added. "It allows them to hypothesize why the older child of the three was drinking so much chicha in her last month of life and what that might have indicated about her lifestyle and activities."
According to Wilson, the story likely begins "far from the mountain" in the Inca capital of Cusco, Peru, where the Ice Maiden was taken to live "under the guardianship of priestesses" and passed her time weaving textiles and brewing chicha.
At about six months before death, there was a ceremony that involved ritual hair cutting — some clippings were found with the mummies — and that coincides with a peak in coca consumption.
The coca consumption and alcohol use then begin to rise sharply again in the weeks before death, probably as the Ice Maiden and two younger children were marched from Cusco to the volcano, stopping along the way for ceremonies that likely involved large amounts of coca and chicha.
The researchers suspect the Inca rulers wanted the sacrifice to be known throughout the empire, which was expanding southward at the time of the mummies' death. The Llullaillacao Volcano is at the empire's southern extent.
"It is something that is designed to create this climate of fear and to basically help build … new allegiances," Wilson said.
These festivals en route to the mountain, Verano noted, could explain why the Ice Maiden was drinking so much corn beer along with elevated coca chewing in her final weeks.
It's also possible, he added, that "she had a drinking problem. Maybe she started drinking beer the last year of her life and just found it to be pleasant or particularly soothing."
The mummies were discovered in 1999 and are considered among the best preserved mummies from anywhere in the world.
The Ice Maiden was inside a tomb structure, surrounded by offerings from the four corners of the Inca empire such as seashells, bird feathers, coca and corn. Her head is bowed as if she fell asleep, sedated, and succumbed to the biting cold and thin air as is inevitable at such altitude.
The levels of alcohol and coca are higher for the older girl, a finding that may "support the idea of her being calmed intentionally," Verano said. "It could be that she had a better idea of what was going to happen to her. She was older."
The data, he added, allows researchers to better imagine the lives of these children, but noted that their story is one of interpretation. There are no eyewitness accounts.
"For me," Wilson said, "it really does send somewhat of a shiver down my spine … It is almost the children being able to speak to us directly through some of this data, some of the things they experienced." http://www.nbcnews.com/scie...eks-death-6C10784197
Wow! That is such an interesting look into human nature, of sorts.
I sometimes think it's a damn wonder we ever even made it at all...
No doubt that stuff is extremely interesting, but I have to wonder who pays for all this research? And are we seeing any tangible benefits after paying those researchers to find out that children were drunk and high before being sacrificed thousands of years ago?
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03:13 PM
Marvin McInnis Member
Posts: 11599 From: ~ Kansas City, USA Registered: Apr 2002
Natural hypoxia due to the extreme altitude plus further blood oxygen depletion due to acute alcohol intoxication seems like a perfectly reasonable cause of death. The next question is, "For what purpose?"
[This message has been edited by Marvin McInnis (edited 07-30-2013).]
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04:46 PM
2.5 Member
Posts: 43235 From: Southern MN Registered: May 2007
No doubt that stuff is extremely interesting, but I have to wonder who pays for all this research? And are we seeing any tangible benefits after paying those researchers...
What kind of research should we be focusing on then... better flow for 2.8 heads?
I suspect there's research going on that would curl your toes if you were aware of it. This particular research project is at least being done on dead people.
No doubt that stuff is extremely interesting, but I have to wonder who pays for all this research? And are we seeing any tangible benefits after paying those researchers to find out that children were drunk and high before being sacrificed thousands of years ago?
It depends... things like this though, are often funded by a college or university. These schools will often get grants (sometimes by Federal, sometimes by the state), but often times... the research money comes from personal donations from wealthy alumni (usually Republicans, haha). In many cases, the research is done by students who are working on a doctoral thesis, so they're often getting paid very little, or if at all. The expenses (travel, etc) will usually get paid for by the donations.
No doubt that stuff is extremely interesting, but I have to wonder who pays for all this research? And are we seeing any tangible benefits after paying those researchers to find out that children were drunk and high before being sacrificed thousands of years ago?
Learning about past human history always gives tangible benefits, little something called Knowledge!..
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06:07 PM
Boondawg Member
Posts: 38235 From: Displaced Alaskan Registered: Jun 2003
Yep, for centuries, drugs of all kinds have been used as a control media. It's one of the reasons poppy production is tolerated by Far Eastern govts. Not much chance of the tribal areas doing much in the way of civil disobedience when they're zonked out in la la land. It's also one of the ways human trafficking plies it's trade on the young, even here in this country.
quote
Ron Hosko, assistant director of the FBI's Criminal Investigative Division, said at a news conference that pimps may recruit their prey relatively gently, using compliments and rewards, but then will use violence and drugs to keep the juveniles in line.
Do you claim to know what is tangible and what is not ... in advance?
In a case like this, yes.
While it might be a nice thing to know more about rather esoteric human history, it does not advance us as a species. If we had infinite resources, sure, do research like this. But we don't, so we shouldn't squander it like this.
There's plenty of assets--and if not, we can just print more. Unless we run out of paper, ink or the preses break, we certainly do have infinite assets.
There's plenty of assets--and if not, we can just print more. Unless we run out of paper, ink or the preses break, we certainly do have infinite assets.
Originally posted by User00013170: While it might be a nice thing to know more about rather esoteric human history, it does not advance us as a species. If we had infinite resources, sure, do research like this. But we don't, so we shouldn't squander it like this.
There are tangible benefits to projects like this. The archaeological work produces Inca artifacts for museums, Inca sites that are accessible and attractive to visitors, and news reports (like this one) that make people around the world think about going to South America with some "Inca" (and/or Aztec, Mayan, Olmec, etc.) on their itinerary. It's called "tourism", and it's a global industry that supports employment in a variety of associated enterprises, from hoteliers to airline mechanics.
I shudder to think that there would ever be some highly centralized committee with the power to decide exactly what advances us as a species and the power to control the distribution of grant money to support such an agenda.
[This message has been edited by rinselberg (edited 07-30-2013).]
There are tangible benefits to projects like this. The archaeological work produces Inca artifacts for museums, Inca sites that are accessible and attractive to visitors, and news reports (like this one) that make people around the world think about going to South America with some "Inca" (and/or Aztec, Mayan, Olmec, etc.) on their itinerary. It's called "tourism", and it's a global industry that supports employment in a variety of associated enterprises, from hoteliers to airline mechanics.
I shudder to think that there would ever be some highly centralized committee with the power to decide exactly what advances us as a species and the power to control the distribution of grant money to support such an agenda.
Sorry, but i don't buy that populating some museum with obsolete ancient practices advances us any. Sure, its *nice* to have this record, but we are not advanced by it.
Now if you want to learn about their building techniques, or how they farmed, sure, that could have merit. But 'this is how we killed our own people' centuries ago isn't useful in a practical sense.
Really, as a species we need to get down to business or we are going to be extinct here soon.
I shudder to think that there would ever be some highly centralized committee with the power to decide exactly what advances us as a species and the power to control the distribution of grant money to support such an agenda.
Coming from you that is priceless. What do you think is happening right now, and many debate it almost everyday right here.
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08:19 PM
Patrick Member
Posts: 38508 From: Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada Registered: Apr 99
Sorry, but i don't buy that populating some museum with obsolete ancient practices advances us any. Sure, its *nice* to have this record, but we are not advanced by it.
Many do not realize that not too long ago all museums were private. Not sure what happened with that.
I think historical record and research is important. It amazes me that there are so many holes in history that were lost and forgotten..
Originally posted by Red88FF: Coming from you that is priceless. What do you think is happening right now, and many debate it almost everyday right here.
I think that the scientific evidence that is being accumulated through objective methods is getting stronger and stronger for Anthropogenic Global Warming.
The allocation of resources that supports this research is not completely centralized.
What exactly (if anything) should be changed to respond to this conclusion, and how exactly to effect such changes--even more debatable.
"Billions spent in Obama climate plan may be virtually useless, study suggests"
I shudder to think that there would ever be some highly centralized committee with the power to decide exactly what advances us as a species and the power to control the distribution of grant money to support such an agenda.
Umm... is this a joke? Am I being tricked here? Cause... because you just described the Obama Administration.
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08:48 PM
Patrick Member
Posts: 38508 From: Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada Registered: Apr 99
...I certainly hope you're not suggesting that this is just a recent phenomenon.
It's been 5 years since Bush left the White House... when can we focus on the problems that Obama is causing, without rushing to the defense that Bush did it too. Does the fact that Bush also did bad things, somehow make the same bad things acceptable now that it's under Obama?
If you have a buddy who is a professor I am sure he could get a multimillion dollar grant, and you could be his WELL PAID assistant! I would be more interested in who did cornrows first than those shrimp on a treadmill we spent over a million on..
[This message has been edited by partfiero (edited 07-30-2013).]
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09:09 PM
Patrick Member
Posts: 38508 From: Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada Registered: Apr 99
While it might be a nice thing to know more about rather esoteric human history, it does not advance us as a species. If we had infinite resources, sure, do research like this. But we don't, so we shouldn't squander it like this.
I find it interesting that there really are people out there who feel they know best how to spend other peoples money. I'm not completely certain but I have my suspicions which side of the political spectrum people who think this way tend to follow.
I think we need a study to confirm this hypothesis once and for all....
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04:42 AM
Raydar Member
Posts: 41157 From: Carrollton GA. Out in the... country. Registered: Oct 1999
Yep, for centuries, drugs of all kinds have been used as a control media. It's one of the reasons poppy production is tolerated by Far Eastern govts. Not much chance of the tribal areas doing much in the way of civil disobedience when they're zonked out in la la land. It's also one of the ways human trafficking plies it's trade on the young, even here in this country.
And yet so many people long to be zonked.
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10:06 AM
cliffw Member
Posts: 37633 From: Bandera, Texas, USA Registered: Jun 2003
Originally posted by 2.5: And yet so many people long to be zonked.
Not true. Unless you include the three martini lunch, and the ( I forget the name ) after work working parent relaxing pill popular back when I was a kid. Usage does not mean zonked, and I suspect self induced zonked was not what was happening to the Inca children. More like the Jim Jones Giyana cult mass suicide.
See below. Still applies.
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