Inca Mummies Reveal Drugs Used During Human Sacrifice

Key Points:

• Archaeologists have discovered that eight Inca children sacrificed in capacocha rituals around 500 years ago were given various psychoactive substances, including coca and alcohol, in the months leading up to their deaths, likely to ease their physical and emotional hardships.
• The children, considered sacred messengers to the gods, were selected for their beauty and purity, taken on long journeys to sacred Andean mountain sites, and buried with offerings as part of important Inca religious ceremonies.
• Analysis of hair and nail samples revealed widespread coca use and the presence of cocaethylene, indicating simultaneous consumption of coca and alcohol (likely fermented maize beer), but no evidence was found of hallucinogenic substances such as mescaline or DMT.
• The detection of harmine, a psychoactive compound from Amazonian plants, in one mummy suggests that plants from the Amazon may have been transported to the Andes for ritual use, highlighting the complexity and regional diversity of Inca religious practices.
• Researchers emphasize that the Inca Empire was culturally diverse, and variations in drug use among the children may reflect different local religious traditions and the specific characteristics of mountain deities worshipped across the empire.