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During the Inca civilization, which thrived in South America before the arrival of Europeans, these ritual sacrifices were known as "capococha." One of the victims was a 7-year-old boy who lived more than 500 years ago. His frozen, mummified remains were discovered at the edge of Argentina's Aconcagua, the tallest mountain outside of Asia.
Hikers found the mummy in 1985. Now, 30 years later, scientists have sequenced some of the boy's DNA and used it to learn more about the rise and extent of the Inca Empire. Their findings were published Thursday in the journal Scientific Reports.
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Those results placed the boy "perfectly" within a genetic population, or haplogroup, known as C1b that is typical of Native Americans, the study authors reported. Previous research has established that one of the people who first populated the Americas brought this genetic signature from Beringia (the land mass that once connected Siberia and Alaska) or the northern tip of North America.However, the boy's mitochondrial genome had 10 distinct mutations that had not been seen together before in either ancient or modern DNA. The researchers named this branch of the haplotype "C1bi" (the "i" stands for Inca). The fact that his genetic signature was unique offers further evidence that the DNA sample wasn't contaminated, the researchers wrote.
Some of those 10 mutations are or were shared by others, and the researchers used that information to make some educated guesses about the boy's life and times. Most likely, his ancestors had been in South America for a long time, originating near the Andes about 14,000 years ago, they wrote.
(Score: 2) by M. Baranczak on Sunday November 15 2015, @03:36PM
(Score: 2) by Runaway1956 on Sunday November 15 2015, @04:43PM
Nope. The Inca had a lot in common with the Aztec, and the Mayan before them. There was a lot of human sacrifice and death worship in the Americas, from modern day Cal, Ariz, NM, and Texas, on down to the bottom of South America. There was a lot less of that going north from that southern tier of the US.
Ages ago, I read Tecumseh's biography. The Shawnee would hunt in Kentucky, but they would always come home, north of the Ohio River, before sundown. Legend had it that the Shawnee waged a genocidal war with cannibals in Kentucky, and that the evil spirits roamed the forests at night. So, there was less death worship that far north, but it still existed.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday November 15 2015, @06:34PM
They were peaceful and organic non-NGO gluten-free localvore and puppy-loving and all that, except on Mondays and Thursdays. You know how it is.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday November 15 2015, @06:56PM
(Score: 2) by HiThere on Sunday November 15 2015, @08:14PM
There's nothing inconsistent with being a peaceful culture living in harmony with nature and human sacrifice. If you want to live in harmony with nature, you've got to control the population somehow.
Mind you, anyone who thinks the Inca were either peaceful or matriarchal hasn't studied them. OTOH, the evidence for ANY matriarchal cultures is quite slim. Matrilineal, yes. That just means it was assumed that you couldn't be sure who the father of a kid was, but you could be sure your sister's kid was your relative. In matrilineal cultures uncles tend to be more significant than presumptive fathers, and sex tends to be loosely controlled. Patrilineal cultures, OTOH, tend to lock up the women. (I'm describing extremes here to make the distinction obvious. Most cultures are somewhere in between.)
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