A pregnant woman who would have lived more than a thousand years ago in the coastal region of Ecuador may have been part of the sacrifice or ritual punishment, according to archaeologists who searched her remains in 2022.
In a study published last month by Cambridge University Press in the name of the Society for American Archaeology, experts detailed their analysis of the remains of the young woman, nicknamed Burial 10, which dated between 771 and 953 AD. She was about 17 to 20 years old at the time of her death, and her left hands and legs were removed at the time of her death or nearby, researchers said.
Kathryn Killacky / Cambridge University Press / Society for American Archaeology
Archaeologists found that her burial was important because she was pregnant at the time. The remains of the young woman showed a cranial fracture and marks cut over her hand bones, which led them to hypothesize that she may have been sacrificed.
“The trauma is expanding, including a cranial fracture and marks cut on hand bones, the elimination ladies the left hands and legs, and other bodily manipulations suggest that it has been sacrificed, a rare event for Peoples coastal equations, “wrote researchers.
Although the human sacrifice in coastal equator is rare, the positioning of the body and the missing members suggest a possible ritual meaning, the study said.
Her eyes were covered with two Ark clam shells. There was a large green clay stone nearby and several ceramic fragments on its forehead, according to the study. Spondylus mascaras in the shape of a crescent, or mollusc shells, were found around the body.
It was also buried with pendants and spondylus pearls, known as Chaquira, various traditions and cultural periods.
Cambridge University Press / Society for American Archaeology
The woman is supposed to be part of the people of Manteño, who lived along the Ecuadorian coast and survived agriculture and the sea, but the eye coverings were not in line with the typical burials of Manteño, declared researchers . The green stone represented a link between death and fertility for Valdivian burials, a different group of coastal people preceding the mantle of almost 2000 years, according to experts. Mascaras were also generally linked to Valdiviens practices.
“Accumulation of so many artifacts required deliberate collection and conservation before inclusion in this burial,” said the study. “The interpretation of this burial must ultimately consider these accents and repeated links with the past to understand the reasons for this enigmatic burial.”
Burial also included a burned offer placed in the chest cavity, researchers said. However, such rituals later proved between 991-1025 after JC, which would indicate that the woman’s grave was revisited and possibly used for other rituals.
