Hair and nails of eight Inca child mummies show coca, alcohol and harmine before capacocha

A team of researchers analysed hair and nail samples from eight child mummies, about 500 years old, from Argentina and Peru. They found traces of several psychoactive substances taken before the capacocha ritual, according to tech.wp.pl, which cites ScienceAlert tech.wp.pltech.wp.pltech.wp.plOpen source ↗. The first conclusions suggest the substances were used less to induce hallucinations than to ease hunger, fatigue and the strain of the journey to high-altitude burial sites.

Capacocha and the substances found

Capacocha was among the most important religious ceremonies of the Inca empire. It was held at significant events, such as the death or accession of a ruler, during major festivals and in response to natural disasters. The children chosen for sacrifice were considered exceptional in beauty and physical perfection and came from different parts of the state. They often went to Cusco and then set out on a long journey to sacred sites, including some high in the Andes.

The researchers tested the samples for stimulants, hallucinogens and substances linked to medicinal plants. Coca use proved widespread: cocaine and its metabolite benzoylecgonine were detected in all six hair samples examined, which corresponds to chewing coca leaves, a practice deeply rooted in Andean culture. Chewing may have reduced hunger and fatigue and so helped the children during marches lasting many months through difficult terrain.

In some samples the team also found cocaethylene, a compound formed in the liver when cocaine and alcohol are present in the body at the same time. The alcohol was most likely consumed as chicha, a fermented maize beer important in religious ceremonies tech.wp.pltech.wp.pltech.wp.plOpen source ↗.

Individual cases

One case drew particular attention: a 14-year-old girl known as the Ampato Maiden, or Juanita. Harmine, a psychoactive compound found in several plants, was detected in her nails. One of them is Banisteriopsis caapi, an Amazonian vine used to prepare ayahuasca. The researchers could not establish which plant she took, but the result raises the possibility that plants were transported from the Amazon to the Andes for ritual purposes.

The mummy of an eight-year-old girl found on Mount Chuscha in Argentina yielded especially rich data. Her hair preserved about six months of chemical history. Analysis of successive sections showed that coca consumption changed over time and fell in the last month before death. Alcohol consumption may have begun in the same period, although the researcher cautioned that some of the differences may result from how compounds are deposited in hair.

According to the team, differences between the children may also reflect religious and cultural diversity within the Inca empire tech.wp.pltech.wp.pltech.wp.plOpen source ↗.