Bioarchaeology of human skeletons from an elite tomb at Pacopampa in Peru’s northern highlands

Bibliographic Data

ID6135417
AuthorsTomohito Nagaoka (0000-0001-8802-9593, Department of Anatomy, St. Marianna University School of Medicine, Kawasaki), Yuji Seki (0000-0002-3490-4935, National Museum of Ethnology, Suita), Juan Pablo Villanueva Hidalgo (0000-0001-8782-4376, Universidad Nacional Mayor de San Marcos, Lima), Daniel Morales Chocano (0000-0002-1620-9074, Universidad Nacional Mayor de San Marcos, Lima)
Year2020
Volume128
Issue1
Pages11-17
Publication date2020-01-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueAnthropological Science (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0918-7960 • E-ISSN: 1348-8570
PublisherAnthropological Society of Nippon (PUBLISHER • JP)
DOI10.1537/ase.200218
OpenAlexW3013486870
LanguageEN
Citations received4
References cited13

The Pacopampa site is one of the largest Formative Period sites in Peru's northern highlands. This study describes newly excavated human remains from the site, compares them with previous findings, and provides bioarchaeological approaches to assess social stratification in Formative Period Andes, leading to an understanding of how social stratification emerged in the Andean civilization. The human remains studied were two individuals from an elite tomb (the 'Serpent-Jaguar Priests' tomb) at the ceremonial center of the site. At the bottom of the tomb, a middle-aged female was laid over the remains of a young male. The central position of the tomb and the rich repertoire of grave goods suggest that these individuals had symbolic importance and belonged to an elite social group. The possible presence of artificial cranial deformation in the female suggests that the buried individuals were socially different from the other burial individuals of this site. There is no dental caries in these two individuals. The comparison of caries frequencies between these two individuals and non-elites showed lower caries frequencies in the former than in the latter. Taking into consideration existing isotopic data of Formative Period sites, the social differences in the caries frequencies can be attributed to the elites' dietary patterns— which contained fewer cariogenic foods. Thus, this study revealed the emergence of social stratification in Peru's northern highlands and its possible pathological impacts

Ancient history · Archaeology · Art · Bioarchaeology · Elite · Formative assessment · Geography · Grave goods · Period (music · Residence · Social science · Social stratification · Sociology · Archaeology and ancient environmental studies · Demography · Forensic Anthropology and Bioarchaeology Studies · History · Indigenous Studies and Ecology

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