Title
Microscopic analysis of botanical residues from cerro esmeralda burial in Northern Chile: State and death ritual implications
Date Issued
01 December 2016
Access level
metadata only access
Resource Type
journal article
Author(s)
Arriaza B.
Ogalde J.
Chacama J.
Standen V.
Aravena N.
Méndez-Quiros P.
Publisher(s)
Interciencia Association
Abstract
In this paper we examine five offerings from a funeral context found at Cerro Esmeralda, an Inca burial ground in the Iquique coast of northern Chile. We focus on the identification of utilized plants, and investigate the consumption of chicha during this mortuary ritual. We brushed and scraped aríbalo vessels and chuspa bags with sterile lab tools and collected and analyzed micro-samples for starch and phytoliths. We identified Zea mays starch, Cucurbita sp./Lagenaria sp., Phaseolus sp., and a few grains of Manihot starch. The identified phytoliths that were present include festucodeae, dicotyledons, and graminoids. These results and this context suggest the consumption of high-quality chicha in the Inca regional funeral setting. Several possible interpretive scenarios are suggested, including the use of various types of plants to optimize the maize fermenting process; ritualistic consumption of chicha to feast with the dead (comer con el muerto); ancient anthropogenic contamination of the vessels due to different types of daily uses; and, finally, as social and ritual activities associated with all these possible scenarios.
Start page
844
End page
850
Volume
41
Issue
12
Language
English
OCDE Knowledge area
Historia
Arqueología
Subjects
Scopus EID
2-s2.0-85011705456
Source
Interciencia
ISSN of the container
03781844
Sources of information:
Directorio de Producción Científica
Scopus