Archaeologists excavating the Inca site of Tambo Viejo in Peru have uncovered 14 naturally mummified llamas and four guinea pigs, revealing physical evidence that animals were buried alive during sacrificial rituals. The discovery, reported by archaeologist Lidio Valdez and colleagues in the journal Ñawpa Pacha, challenges long-held historical assumptions derived from 16th- and 17th-century Spanish colonial accounts regarding how the empire conducted offerings to its deities.
Excavation at Structure 4 Reveals Mummified Llamas
Researchers focused their latest excavation on Structure 4, a cobblestone enclosure covering roughly 4,650 square feet. Inside the 432-square-meter space, the team found nine llamas packed tightly into a single corner, part of a total of 14 llamas recovered from the site. These animals wore red face paint, necklaces, and colorful ear tassels. Fragments of coca leaves were wedged directly into their wool around the back of the neck.
Following the placement of the llamas, workers covered the animals with a clean layer of sand and four guinea pigs before sealing the entire shrine with a layer of clay. Lidio Valdez, an archaeologist currently with the University of Calgary in Canada, told Gizmodo that Tambo Viejo hosts a uniquely preserved archaeological record. Naturally mummified guinea pigs have only turned up at this specific location, and Valdez noted that nothing similar has emerged from other Inca settlements.
Contrasting Archaeological Findings With Spanish Chronicles
The new discoveries complicate descriptions left behind by Spanish chroniclers who documented Inca practices during the 16th and 17th centuries. Early writers, including Pedro de Cieza de León, recorded that the Inca held coca to be a divine plant, observing the Inca depositing leaves at shrines and special landmarks. However, those colonial documents claimed that coca leaves were routinely burned during rituals.
Because coca leaves are extremely fragile, physical traces rarely survive in the archaeological record, leaving scholars unable to verify the colonial accounts. At Tambo Viejo, a biological analysis of the sacrificed animals showed they were mostly young and bore minimal signs of physical trauma. While a fire pit was lit on top of the llama enclosure, the physical evidence indicates the animals were likely buried alive and suffocated rather than burned. The research team stated in their paper that if the Inca were capable of burying children alive, it is reasonable to conclude they did something similar with animals.
Negotiating With Deities Through Domesticated Offerings
Archaeological evidence indicates that rituals and offerings functioned as a method to negotiate with deities who owned the land the Inca inhabited. Gifts presented in structured ritual contexts were intended to prompt the gods to return good fortune. While child sacrifices represented the most valuable offering, the empire more commonly offered domesticated animals such as llamas and guinea pigs.
Valdez acknowledged that the exact motivations behind specific sacrifices remain difficult to pinpoint definitively. Because the Inca occupied lands belonging to other peoples, rituals served as a necessary mechanism to legitimate their presence and appease powerful local deities. Previous investigations at the site had already identified a stash of coca seeds, suggesting that the plant was a locally available resource before researchers found the leaves stuck in the mummified llama wool.
Where and How the Inca Sacrificed Animals
Where was the mummified animal cache discovered?
The mummified llamas and guinea pigs were unearthed at Tambo Viejo, an archaeological site associated with Inca occupation in Peru.
How were the sacrificed llamas decorated?
The llamas featured colorful ear tassels, necklaces, red face paint, and coca leaves stuck into their wool.
What do the new findings suggest about Inca sacrificial methods?
Biological analysis and structural evidence indicate the animals were likely buried alive and suffocated beneath layers of sand and clay, contradicting Spanish colonial accounts claiming offerings were burned.