Patterns of Camelid Sacrifice at the Site of Pachacamac, Peruvian

Journal of Archaeological Science 114 (2020) 105065 Contents lists available at ScienceDirect Journal of Archaeological Science journal homepage: http://www.elsevier.com/locate/jas Patterns of camelid sacrifice at the site of Pachacamac, Peruvian Central Coast, during the Late Intermediate Period (AD1000–1470): Perspectives from funerary archaeoentomology Giorgia Giordani a,f, C�eline Erauw b, Peter A. Eeckhout b, Lawrence S. Owens c,d, Stefano Vanin a,e,* a University of Huddersfield, United Kingdom b Universit�e libre de Bruxelles (ULB), Belgium c University of South Africa (UNISA), South Africa d University of London (Birkbeck), United Kingdom e DISTAV, University of Genoa, Italy f DIMES, University of Bologna, Italy ARTICLE INFO ABSTRACT Keywords: Funerary archaeoentomology entails the study of insects from archaeological contexts, in order to examine Funerary archaeoentomology funerary practices, thanatology and hygiene/sanitation in ancient populations. However, while insects from Necrophagous insects human mummies have been widely studied, there is a limited literature dealing with archaeoentomology of Pachacamac animal sacrifices. Ychsma Andean camelid sacrifices are common in ritual contexts, as funerary or foundation offerings. The current Peru Mummies paper addresses camelid remains recovered from the archaeological site of Pachacamac, during the 2016 Camelids excavation season. The insect fauna was assessed in order to determine the social context of the remains, and the manner in which the camelids were utilised. The carcasses yielded remains pertaining to Diptera and Coleoptera. The presence of Cochliomyia macellaria (Diptera, Calliphoridae), Sarcophaga sp. (Diptera, Sarcophagidae) and Synthesiomyia nudiseta (Diptera, Muscidae) suggest an initial colonisation in the open, while other species typical of later phases of the colonisation – including Hydrotaea aenescens (Diptera, Muscidae) and members of the family Phoridae – suggest that the carcasses were subsequently buried. Despite the evident importance of camelids to Andean populations, both historically and archaeologically, this is the firsttime that entomology has been used to examine animal sacrifice methods in this area, and comprises a watershed in the development of multidisciplinary approaches to sacrificial rites in ancient Peru. 1. Introduction and funerary archaeoentomology are methodologically allied in their collection and analysis of insect remains from forensically- or 1.1. Entomology in the archaeological context archaeologically-derived bodies (Giordani et al., 2018b). Archaeoentomological approaches provide data not obtainable by Funerary archaeoentomology (as defined by Huchet, 1996) com any other means, which can be allied with archaeothanatology to better prises the formalisation of guidelines concerning insect remains in understand the evolution of burial contexts. These methods have been archaeological funerary contexts, although anecdotal observations on increasingly used during recent years in order to understand burial se the subject date to 1710 when Tommaso Alghisi described and illus quences and funerary practices (Huchet and Greenberg, 2010; Pradelli trated a fly puparium associated with an Egyptian mummy (Vallisneri, et al., 2019). While focusing primarily on mummies and other cadaveric 1733). The discipline has been applied to both human and animal re remains, archaeoentomological methods have also been applied to of mains in order to elucidate funerary practices in the ancient past ferings made during – or after – burial ceremonies, or even in the (Huchet, 1996, 2014). Despite their differing aims, forensic entomology absence of funerary remains (Zaidi and Chen, 2011). In the wider fieldof * Corresponding author. DISTAV, University of Genoa, Italy. E-mail address: [email protected] (S. Vanin). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jas.2019.105065 Received 9 October 2018; Received in revised form 30 October 2019; Accepted 30 November 2019 Available online 19 December 2019 0305-4403/© 2019 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. G. Giordani et al. Journal of Archaeological Science 114 (2020) 105065 bio/archaeology, there has been a very strong academic focus on burial Coast was carried out at Pachacamac (Peru), where Owens et al. (2015) structure, physical anthropology and – particularly – the grave goods located some puparia of Calliphoridae (Diptera) and some fragments of associated with interments. However, there has been relatively little dermestid beetles (Coleoptera, Dermestidae) in a series of mummified work carried out on archaeoentomological materials connected with human remains. A number of pseudoscorpions were also recovered from ancient animal remains. Notable exceptions include the study of an the same mummy series (Morrow et al., 2017), but to our knowledge Egyptian dog mummy by Huchet et al. (2013) and Otranto et al. (2014), there are no data concerning archaeoentomological analysis of animal and analyses of guinea pig mummies in South America (Dittmar, 2000; remains in the region. The way sacrificial victims were utilised, buried Dittmar et al., 2003). In both of these cases, the central emphasis was on or displayed is key to many Andean groups for whom the dead – usually parasitological aspects of arthropods associated with animal mummies, dead humans – could be manipulated for social, spiritual or divine including the brown dog tick Rhipicephalus sanguineus (Latreille, 1806), advantage (Eeckhout and Owens, 2015; Korpisaari, 2006; Verano, the louse fly Hippobosca longipennis Fabricius, 1805, and fleas of the 2014). This avenue has never been explored for animals, but is likely to genus Pulex Linnaeus, 1758. In his work on the dog mummy, Huchet prove as informative about ancient lifeways as are human sacrifices.At et al. (2013) also noted the presence of sarcosaprophagous fly puparia the time of writing, there are no published data from anywhere on the belonging to the families Sarcophagidae and Calliphoridae. South American continent concerning insects associated with camelid Several works have been published on South American mummies remains of archaeological interest. We consider this to be a surprising and the costal area represents an important source of findings where omission given both the importance of camelids to ancient Andeans, and Huchet and Greenberg (2010) identifieda series of flypuparia in Moche archaeoentomology’s potential to elucidate the manner in which these tombs, with various implications for North Coast funerary behaviour. evidently valuable resources were exploited and utilised through time The first study of human funerary archaeoentomology on the Central and space. It is our intention to use the B15 camelids as a case study to 0 00 0 00 Fig. 1. Building B15 at Pachacamac (120 15 24 south, 760 54 01 West) (P. Eeckhout). 2 G. Giordani et al. Journal of Archaeological Science 114 (2020) 105065 demonstrate the potential of the entomological approaches in the Andean area, although perhaps the most analysed are humans remains elucidation of camelid sacrificial and depositional habitus in the Late (Rofes, 2004; Swenson, 2003). Sacrifice can be inferred from skeletal Intermediate Period (LIP), with further implications for zooarchaeolo remains, from historical (contact period) sources, ethnohistorical re gical/archaeoentomological studies in the Andean area in general. In cords and iconography. These alternative means of identifying sacrifice particular in this study, using the insects, we aim to test the following help to balance the fact that sacrificial processes do not always leave hypotheses: were the animals sacrificed and exposed or were they unambiguous traces on the remains. Archaeological discoveries attest to immediately interred? the extensive use of camelid sacrifices in ritual contexts, as funerary offerings or foundation offerings (Alaica, 2018; Goepfert, 2011, 2012). 1.2. Geographical context The sacrificialanimal, context and rationale were all socially configured and highly selective (Rowe, 1946). The large majority of camelid sac Pachacamac is situated on the Pacific coast some 40 km south of rifices in Peru are associated with human burials or with contexts modern Lima. It is located directly adjacent to the Lurin River on a dry indicative of human sacrifice (Donnan and Foote, 1978; Dufour et al., promontory overlooking the fertile river plain and the coastline (Fig. 1). 2018; Goepfert, 2008; Goepfert and Prieto, 2016; Kent et al., 2016; The site has various pedological and climatic characteristics that pro Lozada et al., 2009, 2004; Prieto et al., 2014; Rodriguez Loredo, 2001; mote excellent preservation of even the most fragile organic evidence, Rowe, 1946; Wake, 2007), although there are exceptions to this rule such as that discussed here (Eeckhout, 1999). (Strong and Evans, 1952; Wheeler et al., 1995). In the case of Pacha camac, camelid sacrifices are vastly outnumbered by other species, 1.3. Archaeological and historical context notably guinea pigs and dogs. Contextual analysis indicates a strong correlation between sacrificed camelids and group burial contexts, Pachacamac can be divided into three sectors, running from South to although there is at least one additional case of a camelid being used as a North. The firstis the Sacred Precinct, the location of the main temples. foundation offering (Eeckhout, 2004; Franco and Paredes, 2001). The second precinct contains the pyramids with ramps (elite residences), From a historical/religious perspective, the telluric

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