childhood lost: abductions, sacrifice, and trophy heads of children in the wari empire of the ancient

23 Pages·2012·3.76 MB·English

CHILDHOOD LOST: ABDUCTIONS, SACRIFICE, AND TROPHY HEADS
OF CHILDREN IN THE WARI EMPIRE OF THE ANCIENT ANDES
TiffinyA . Tung and Kelly J.K nudson
This study examines isolated child skeletal remains from ritual structures at theW ari site of Conchopata (A.D. 600-1000)
to evaluate how theyw ere modified into trophy heads and whether the children were sacrificed. The skeletal remains rep
resent at least seven children. Strontium isotope ratios are examined to determine whether children were takenf rom foreign
locales. Results show that the children's skulls exhibit a hole on the apex of the cranium and on the ascending ramus of the
mandible, identical to the adult Wari trophy heads. At least one child may have been sacrificed. 87Sr^6Sr demonstrate that
two of thef our sampled child trophy heads were nonlocal, suggesting that children were occasionally abducted from dis
tant communities, perhaps for sacrifice and certainly to transform some into trophy heads. The similar child and adult tro
phy heads suggest that the ritual treatment of children was not uniquely designed, at least as it related to their processing,
display, and destruction. Furthermore, it is suggested that the child trophy heads were not simply passive symbols of pre
existing authority by the head-takers and trophy head-makers. The trophy heads simultaneously imbued those agents with
"
authority?they did not merely reflect it?demonstrating the "effective agency of the trophy head objects themselves. Finally,
we suggest that prisoner-taking and trophy head-making by military and ritual elites served to legitimate the authority of
those individuals while simultaneously serving larger state goals that enhanced Wari state authority and legitimated its
policies and practices.
Este estudio examina oseos humanos incorpdreos de varios nihos provenientes de estructuras rituales en un sitio de afiliacion
Wari (d.C. 600-1000)?Conchopata?para evaluar sifueron modificados como cabezas trofeos y sifueron sacrificados. Los
restos oseos representan por lom enos siete nihos. Ademds, se analizan las proporciones de isotopos de estroncio para aclarar
si estuvieron raptados desde regiones afuera del centro del imperio Wari. Observaciones de perforaciones en los apices de los
crdneos de los nihos indican que fueron cabezas trofeos. 875r/*65rd emuestra que dos cabezas trofeos de nihos eran extran
jeros. Esto sugiere que los guerreros de Wari capturaron nihos, como hicieron a los adultos prisioneros. Las similitudes entre
las cabezas trofeos de nihos y adultos, indican que el tratamiento ritual de los nihos no fue unico o especial en su diseho, a
menos que se relaciona su procesamiento, exposition, y destruction dentro de las estructuras rituales. Ademds, se sugiere que
las cabezas trofeos de los nihos no fueron simbolos pasivos de una autoridad pre-existente de sus captores yf abricadores. Las
cabezas trofeos simultdneamente imbuyeron eso"s agentes con autoridad?no la reflejaron simplemente. En este sentido, las
cabezas trofeos tuvieron una "agenda efectiva dentro de sus contextos de obtencion, fabrication, y utilization. Finalmente,
sugerimos que la captura y fabrication de cabezas trofeos por la elite militar y ritual legitimizaron su autoridad, a la vez
sirviendo metas mas amplias del estado que aumentaron su autoridad y legitimizaron sus principios y prdcticas.
Child sacrifice has been documented in the man Poma de Ayala et al. 1987 [1615]; Reinhard
ancientA ndes of Peru and ism ost clearly 2005). Children (and adults) could also be sacri
associated with the Inka Empire (A.D. ficed tom ark significant imperial events, such as
1450-1532). Both ethnohistorical and bioarchae thed eath of a royal Inka, a new Inka ruler's reign,
ological studies thath ave documented thisp ractice, or a successfulm ilitary campaign (Betanzos 1551;
known as capacocha, note thatb eautiful, unblem Sarmiento de Gamboa 1999 [1572]). Recently, a
ished childrenw ere sacrificed and buried in high probable capacocha has been documented at the
Andean mountaintops as offerings tom ountain site of Chokepuquio in theD epartment of Cusco,
deities (apus) (Ceruti 2004; Gentile L 1996; Gua where seven similarly aged childrenw ere interred
Tiffiny A. lung Department of Anthropology, Vanderbilt University, VU Station B #356050, Nashville, TN 37235
(t.tung@ vanderbilt.edu)
Kelly J. Knudson Center for Bioarchaeological Research, School of Human Evolution and Social Change, Arizona State
University PO Box 872402, Tempe, AZ, 85287 ([email protected])
Latin American Antiquity 21(1), 2010, pp. 44-66
Copyright ?2010 by the Society forA merican Archaeology
44
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CHILDHOODL OST 45
togetherw ith grave goods highly reminiscent of a afford insights into how children were integrated
capacocha offering( Andrushko et al. 2008; Gibaja into ritual life and how theym ay have been per
et al. 2005); thisd emonstrates thatt hese Inka child ceived in prehispanic Andean society.
sacrificesw ere not limited tom ountaintops. In this study,w e evaluate whether theW ari
Other Andean groups have been suspected of empire (A.D. 600-1000) in particular engaged in
practicing child sacrifice, such as theM oche (A.D. any of thesep ractices. The notion thatt hWe ari may
100-700) on the north coast of Peru where skele have done so stems fromn ew trophyh ead finds at
tons from threec hildren, two ofw hich were head thWe ari siteo fC onchopata (Tung 2008), and from
less,w ere recovered from a ritual plaza at Huaca what is known of other prehispanic Andean soci
de la Luna (Bourget 2001). These child skeletons eties. For example, the Inka practiced child sacri
were recovered from the same plaza as numerous fice, and it has been proposed that some of their
sacrificed adult males (Verano 2001a). However, cultural practices and aspects of statecraftd erived
because therew as no osteological evidence among from thWe ari (Earle 1997; Schreiber 1992). Also,
the child burials for them echanism of death (e.g., because studies of Nasca trophy heads (A.D.
perimortem fractures,c utmarks, or chopmarks), it 1-600) and associated iconography provide com
is unclear if theyw ere sacrificed or died natural pelling evidence thata dults and an occasional child
deaths (Bourget 2001). were likely captured for thep urpose of ritual sac
Recent research at the lateM iddle Horizon/early rificea nd transformationi nto trophyh eads (Proulx
Late IntermediateP eriod site of Santa Rita B in the 2001), it is possible that a subsequent polity in a
Chao Valley has uncovered additional examples of neighboring region (i.e., thWe ari in theA yacucho
possible child sacrifice; threes ubadults (two 10-12 Basin) conducted similar activities (Figure 1).
year olds and a 13-15 year-old girl) were appar Moreover, Nasca-derived iconography inm uch of
ently sacrificed and interredw ith two principal Wari art indicates that theN asca polity strongly
burials (a 7-year-old child and an adult male) influenceWd ari material culture (Cook 1994;M en
(Gaither et al. 2008). Although the subadult sacri zel 1964). Therefore, itw ould not be surprising if
fices exhibit no perimortem trauma, the context Nasca ritualp ractices also permeatedW ari society.
and burial orientation led thea uthors to suggest they Finally, thep ossibility thatc hildrenw ere sacrificed
are retainers acrifices (Gaither et al. 2008), not dis and transformedi nto trophyh eads inW ari society
similar to the child retainer sacrifices documented finds precedent in the apparent evidence that the
at theM iddle Sican site of Huaca Loro (Shimada Wari Empire sacrificed adults and transformed
et al. 2004). In shortw, hile there is clear evidence them into trophyh eads (Tung 2007a).
of child sacrifice among the Inka and compelling Much of what is known about Andean trophy
evidence for it among pre-Inka cultural groups in heads derives from iconographic and osteological
then orthernP eruvian Andes and coast, it remains studies of theN asca (Browne et al. 1993; Proulx
unclear if other pre-Inka groups practiced child 2001; Silverman 1993; Silverman and Proulx 2002;
sacrifice. Verano 1995). Detailed osteological studyo fN asca
The dearth of data on child sacrifice among pre trophyh eads has identified theird efining charac
Inka groups is paralleled by limited informationo n teristics,s uch as an intentionallye nlarged foramen
child trophyh eads. This lack of informationh as magnum to extract the brain and an intentionally
made inquiries into thep ractice of child head-taking drilled hole on thea nterioro f thef rontalb one (Ver
and itsp ossible relationship to child sacrifice dif ano 1995). Carrying cords are often still in place
ficult to address. In turn,s cholarly inquiries regard inm any of theN asca trophyh eads, demonstrating
ing the role that children played in prehispanic that theyw ere carried and displayed.
rituals have been limited, a void that inhibitso ur To evaluate whetherW ari did indeedm ake tro
ability to characterize how ritual activities affected phies out of children's heads and practice child sac
the lives of individuals of all ages. A focused study rifice, seven isolated children's skulls from two
of children's bones from ritual structuresp rovides ritual spaces at theW ari site of Conchopata were
a directm eans to evaluate if children were sacri reconstructeda nd analyzed. (They are clearly iden
ficed, how theirr emainsw ere made into trophies, tified as the remains of children, not dwarf indi
and fromw here theyw ere obtained. These data also viduals, as has been previously suggested
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46 LATINA MERICANA NTIQUITY [Vol. 21, No. 1,2010
Figure 1.M ap of Peru showing sites discussed in the text.
[Ochatoma and Cabrera 2002]). These children's adult trophyh eads, who may have been sacrifice
skeletal remains are ideal to address these issues victims (Cook 2001; Tung 2007a). That these
because theyw ere excavated from the same ritual uniquely shaped buildings are ritual in nature is
spaces?circular and D-shaped rooms?as the indicated not only by theira rchitecturald esign, but
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Tung and Knudson] CHILDHOOD LO4S7T
also by the presence of sacrificed camelids and rule,w e see the various evidence as an indication
intentionally smashed ceramic urns thath ad been thaWt ari political leadersw ere savvy in theiri mple
beautifully decorated with images ofW ari deities mentation of differents trategies in distinct places,
and elaborately dressed warriors (Ochatoma 2007; and in how theyn egotiated with local elites.
Ochatoma and Cabrera 2002). While there is compelling evidence for these
various strategies of rule (Feldman 1989; Isbell
The Wari Empire 1984, 2007; Lumbreras 1974; Menzel 1964;
Williams andN ash 2005), evidence from the impe
The Middle Horizon (A.D. 600-1000) in theP eru rial heartland suggests thatm ilitary might, or the
vianA ndes was initiatedb y various changes in art, threatt hereof,a s well as ritual authorityw, ere par
architecture, and sociopolitical organization that ticularlyp rominent. These are apparent in icono
reached nearly all parts of theA ndes. These pan graphic depictions ofW ari warriors carrying
Andean changes stemmed from twom ajor cultural weapons and trophyh eads andW ari deities hold
centers: Tiwanaku in the southern Andes of ing prisoners and trophy heads. Notably, these
modern-day Bolivia, and the capital site of Huari images appear on large, state-produced ceramic
in central highland Peru (Isbell 1987) (Figure 1). urns, some of which are a meter in diameter
Wari influence was more geographically wide (Ochatoma and Cabrera 2002). The "official" cou
spread than that of Tiwanaku, as evident in the pling of images of warriors, captives, and trophy
wider distribution ofW ari architecture thatm im heads strongly suggests that activities involving
ics formsf rom thec apital siteo fH uari (Isbell 1984, them are interrelatedF. urther evidence ofm ilitary
1991; Isbell et al. 1991). This style,k nown as the conflict, or violent unrestm ore generally, is seen
"orthogonal cellular architectureh orizon," in addi in adult cranial trauma rates thata verage about 25
tion to theD -shaped ritualb uildings (Isbell 1991), percent among those fromC onchopata and other
appear at numerous sites in the Peruvian Andes Wari affiliated sites in theM ajes valley of south
(Anders 1991; Feldman 1989; Isbell 1989, 1991; ern Peru (Tung 2007b).
McEwan 1991; Moseley et al. 1991; Schreiber The establishment ofW ari rituala uthority in the
1992; Williams 2001) (Figure 1). In particular, heartland and hinterland is evidenced by thew ide
Azangaro (Anders 1991) and Jincamocco distributiono fD -shaped ritual structures,s ome of
(Schreiber 1992), located on thef ringeso f thWe ari which contained ritually smashed ceramic vessels
heartland,d isplayW ari architecture,a s dom ore dis and sacrificed camelids (Bragayrac 1991; Cook
tant sites such as Viracochapampa and Honco 2001; Isbell and Cook 2002; Ochatoma and Cabr
pampa inn orthernP eru (Isbell 1989; Topic 1991), era 2002; Williams 2001). The display and destruc
Pikillacta near Cuzco (McEwan 1991), and Cerro tiono f adult human trophyh eads in ritualb uildings
Baiil in southernP eru (Feldman 1989;M oseley et was another significantp art of establishing thisr it
al. 1991;W illiams 2001). There are also numerous ual authority.T his is apparent at the site of Con
Middle Horizon sites thath aveW ari ceramics and chopata, the secondary site in theW ari heartland
textiles intrusive to the local style, illustratingt he (Isbell and Cook 2002), where 24 adult trophy
extent ofW ari influence (Cardona Rosas 2002; heads were foundb urned and smashed on the floors
Cook 1994; Cook and Glowacki 2003; Menzel of two ritual structures( EA72 and EA143). Fifteen
1964, 1968; Nash and Barrionuevo 2009; Owen of the 16 adult crania whose sex could be deter
2007; Schreiber 1992; Stone-Miller andM cEwan mined were male (94 percent), and eight of the 19
1990T; ung2 007c). adult trophyh eads (42 percent) exhibited cranial
This widespread influence and control in par trauma (one perimortem and seven antemortem
ticular parts of theA ndes may have succeeded fractures) (Tung 2008). Moreover, strontium iso
throughr eligious indoctrination( Cook 1994,2001; tope ratios obtained from local burials and a sub
Menzel 1964), commensal feasting and drinking sample of adult trophy heads indicate that a
(Cookand Glowacki 2003;Isbell 1984,1987,2007; majority of the adult trophyh ead victims came
Williams and Nash 2005), and/orm ilitary cam from a geographical locale outside of theA yacu
paigns (Feldman 1989; Lumbreras 1974). But rather cho Basin (Tung and Knudson 2008). Together, the
thanv iewing these as mutually exclusive means to demographic, trauma, and chemical data suggest
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LATIN AMERICAN ANTIQUITY [Vol. 21, No. 1,2010
thata dultsw ho were transformedi nto trophyh eads imperial strategies for the subjugation and integra
may have been victims of raids,m any ofw hom may tion of "outsider" polities. To estimate if children
have been nonlocal enemies of thWe ari state.T his from these ritual structuresw ere from theW ari
is furthers upportedb y ceramic iconography show heartland or some distant geological locale, we
ingW ari deities controlling bound prisoners and obtained strontium isotope ratios from four of the
holding trophyh eads, as well as images ofw arriors seven children, and compared those to thee xpected
wearing trophyh eads around their necks (Isbell strontium isotope value for theA yacucho Basin
and Cook 2002; Ochatoma and Cabrera 2002). (Wari imperial core) (Tung and Knudson 2008). We
hypothesize that, like the adult trophyh eads from
Expectations: Taking Child Captives and the ritual structuresa t Conchopata, one or more
Documenting Sacrifice child trophyh eads will exhibit a nonlocal strontium
isotope value, suggesting that,o n occasion, chil
Child skulls thatd isplay the same postmortemm od dren (or just theirh eads and hands) were takenc ap
ifications as adult trophyh eads will be identified tive and brought back toC onchopata for possible
as trophy heads. Such modifications include an sacrifice and transformationi nto trophies.
intentionallyd rilled hole on thea pex of thec ranium
and thea scending ramus of them andible. To deter Materials and Methods
mine whether theb odies of children received sim
ilar ritual treatment as those of adults, juvenile The skeletal remains analyzed in this study include
remains were inventoried to see if the same adult hand phalanges, cervical vertebrae, and cranial and
skeletal elements (i.e., crania,m andibles, and hand mandibular parts representing at least seven chil
phalanges) were present among thej uvenile bones. dren.T he child skeletal remains do not derive from
The skeletal elements were thene xamined forc ut mortuary spaces, so the bone modifications
marks, chopmarks, and burning. If adults and chil described below (e.g., cutmarks, chopmarks) are
dren are representedb y the same skeletal elements unlikely related to burial treatment.T hree chil
thats how similarm odifications, itw ill be suggested dren's skulls are from theD -shaped ritual room
thatb oth age groups were similarly integratedi nto (EA72) and four are from the circular ritual room
Wari rituals. (EA143); both spaces measured 11m in diameter
The knowledge thatt he Inka practiced child sac (Figure 2). Because the human remains were
rifice contributes to the supposition thatp receding smashed and commingled on the floors of the rit
Andean groups also engaged in this practice, but ual rooms, some crania could not be affiliatedw ith
evidence for skeletal trauma that is consistentw ith theirm andibles.
intentional killing would further support the Each cluster of human bone from the floor of
hypothesis. For example, cutmarks or chopmarks EA143 was photographed, mapped, and assigned
on the cervical vertebrae, the inferiore dge of the a numerical code while in situ (Isbell and Cook
occipital, and/or thep osterior edge of them andible 2002). Inm ost cases, a cluster of skull fragments
may suggest lethal decapitation (Angel and Cald pertained too ne individual.H owever, ino ther cases
well 1984; Waldron 1996), while a perimortem one skull could be dispersed among several bone
fractureo n a cervical vertebram ay suggest a bro piles. For this reason, alphabetical lab codes were
ken neck that could have been fatal (Angel and assigned that identifiede ach particular individual.
Caldwell 1984). Because thec utmarks,c hopmarks, (See Table 1 for listingo f thec hild skeletal remains
and perimortem fracture could also result from thata re present fore ach juvenile.) Spatial and strati
postmortem processing forb urial, theo steological graphic relationshipsc ould not be examined forc ra
data must be evaluated with information on the nia fromE A72, as there are no detailed maps or
archaeological context and more general knowl sketches showing them in situ, though field pho
edge about sacrifice in theA ndes. tographs do show the skulls clustered together.
The question regardingw hether local or foreign Age was determined based on dental eruption
childrenw ere takenc aptive, sacrificiallyk illed, and whenever possible (Ubelaker 1989). Cranial suture
then transformed into trophyh eads is crucial to closure and thickness of the cranial bones were
examine, for these insightsr evealm uch aboutW ari also used as criteria to distinguish adult bone from
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Tung and Knudson] CHILDHOODL OST
Figure 2. Map of Conchopata. (Based on map by Juan Carlos Blacker.)
juvenile bone (Meindl and Lovejoy 1985). Because All tootha nd bone samples were prepared in the
sexually dimorphic skeletal traitsh ad not yet devel Archaeological Chemistry Laboratory atA rizona
oped on the juvenile individuals, sex could not be State University. Archaeological bone samples
determined for any of the child remains. were mechanically and chemically cleaned in a
All juvenile skeletal elements were observed series of weak acetic acid washes to remove any
with a lOx handheld magnifying lens form odifi diagenetic contamination, and then ashed at 800?
cations such as drilled holes, cutmarks, chopmarks, C for 10 hours (Nielsen-Marsh and Hedges 2000;
and burning.T hey were also observed fora nte- and Price et al. 1992; Price et al. 1994; Sillen 1989).
perimortem trauma, and cribra orbitalia (an indi The strontiumw as then separated from the sample
cator of physiological stress) was observed when matrix using EiChrom SrSpec resin in theW .M.
orbital roofs were present. Keck Foundation Laboratory for Environmental
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50 LATIN AMERICAN ANTIQUITY [Vol. 21, No. 1,2010
Figure 3. Map of EA143, showing locations of the child trophy heads and other clusters of cranial fragments. Trophy
Head A is from cranial cluster 1; Trophy Head H is from cranial clusters 14 and 15; Trophy Head P is from cranial clus
ters 4 and 13; Trophy Head S is from cranial cluster 19. Cranial clusters 12 and 18 each had a child frontal fragment,
but it is unknown to which cranium the fragments belong. All other similarly sized polygons in the southeast quadrant
are adult trophy heads. (Redrawn and labeled by Tung based on photos, maps, and field notes byW illiam Isbell, Juan
Carlos Blacker, and Greg Ketteman.)
Biogeochemistry at Arizona State University, Results
where the samples were then analyzed using the
Neptune multicollector inductivelyc oupled plasma Spatial Distribution of theC hild Crania
mass spectrometer( MC-ICP-MS). Recent ^Sr/^Sr
analyses of strontium carbonate standard The juvenile and adult skulls fromE A72 were bro
SRM-987 yield a value of 87Sr/*6S=r .710261 ? ken and deposited together in the southern half of
.000020 (2a), which is in agreementw ith analyses theD -shaped structure,t hough specific spatial rela
of SRM-987 using a thermal ionizationm ass spec tionships between the skulls are unknown. In
trometer (TIMS), where 87Sr/86Sr= .710263 ? EA143, the skeletal elements were deposited in the
.000016 (2a) (Stein et al. 1997), and analyses of south/southeastp ortion of the structurew, here child
SRM-987 using an identicalM C-ICP-MS, where crania were intermixed among the adult trophy
87Sr/86S=r .710251 ?. 000006 (2a) (Balcaen et al. heads (Figures 3 and 4). Fragments of crania and
mandibles fromc hildrenw ere recovered fromb oth
2005). Additional details of sample preparation
have been discussed elsewhere (Knudson and Tung EA72 and EA143, but child hand phalanges were
only recovered fromE A143.
2007).
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Tung and Knudson] CHILDHOOD LO5S1T
Figure 4. Skulls in situ (left photo) and hand phalanges (in situ) that were under Crania 8 and 15 (right photo). Cranium
4 (C4) included skull fragments from a child (Tr-P) and an adult (Tr-D, visible in photo but not discussed in this article).
Skull fragments from Tr-P were below and immediately east of Tr-D. (Photos courtesy ofW illiam Isbell.)
Of the four child crania fromE A143, two had It is unknown if the dispersion of child skeletal
skull parts scattered among several differentc lus parts occurred during the process of the ritual, or
ters.T rophy Head H (Tr-H) was scattered among if theyw ere separated after ritual activities had
Cranial Clusters 14 and 15, and Tr-P was dispersed ceased.
among Cranial Clusters 4 and 13 (Figures 3 and 4).
Tr-A was from skeletal remains inC ranial Cluster Age-at-Death
1 only, and Tr-S was fromC ranial Cluster 19 only Three of thef ourc hildren in thec ircular ritual struc
(Figure 3). Cranial Clusters 12 and 18 also had turew ere 3 to 8 years old at the time of death. The
some juvenile bone fragments,b ut theyc ould have fourthc hild in thatr oomw as 4 to 11 years old. The
belonged to any one of theo ther child skulls; there threec hildren in theD -shaped ritual space were not
fore, theyc ould not be added to theM NI estimate. as well preserved, but based on cranial size and
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LATIN AMERICAN ANTIQUITY [Vol. 21, No. 1,2010
thickness, each was identifieda s 3 to 12 years old
(Table 1). ,D ,<U <D <U <U D. JD
Modifications: Drilled Holes, Cutmarks, Chop
marks, and Burning
Among thef our juvenile crania with an observable
calotte, all show a hole at bregma, on the apex of
the cranium (Figure 5), and of the twom andibles 2 S ^" ' z o z o z o
observed, one exhibited a hole on both the lefta nd
righta scending ramus (Table 1,F igure 6). Because
o o
the locations of these intentionally drilled holes Z Z
mirror those on the adult trophyh eads, these child
remains are identifieda s trophyh eads.
Of the three child mandibles preserved well Zo Zo z ?
enough to observe for cutmarks,a ll exhibited them i5'i
on thep osterior edge of thea scending ramus,m od
ificationst hamt irror those of thea dult trophyh eads </3C ?
(Table 1,F igure 7). Cutmarks were also observed
on the temporalb one ofE A143-Tr-P, superior to the U o
externala uditorym eatus (Figure 8). Of then ine child
hand phalanges, only fourw ere sufficientlyp re B o z ?
served too bserve forc utmarks;n one were affected.
Nevertheless, them ere presence of isolated pha
I^ Si
langesf rom children's hands suggests thatt heirf in
gersw ere ritualo bjects used inc onjunctionw ith the
trophyh eads, as was done with heads and fingers t/3 C/5C /3 on t/j c?
froma dults (Figure 9). No cutmarksw ere observed ,S2 23 HX ''
on any of the threec hild cervical vertebrae. U U *7
One of threme andibles (EA143-Tr-P) displayed
chopmarks on the inferior-posteriore dge of the
ascending ramus (Figure 7), a feature often .3 2 ?
observed on individuals thath ave been beheaded
fromb ehind (Waldron 1996).W hen a sharp-edged
instruments trikes then eck fromb ehind, theb lade
e o
oftenm akes contactw ith the inferiorc orner of the o3 O r Oh
lower jaw, resulting in observable chopmarks, like in N ^
i3 a ^ ?
those on Tr-P. ^ 2 o
^
at hSiegvhe rtael mopf etrhateu crheisld, a st reovpihdeynh ceeadd s bwye rteh ebiurr lingehdt i ?O O cdS^ gj? 3 s 2s
gray color and vitrificationT. he Conchopata adult cflU ft
trophyh eads were similarly vitrified; they sound
similar to clinking glass when tapped together
(Tung 2008). The color of theb ones suggests that
the heads were burned at temperatureso f at least
800? C (ifb urned fora bout threeh ours surrounded o
either by air or topsoil), or as high as 1000? C (if < ffi Ph w z ^ .-u u u
<N <N <N
burned foro ne hour surroundedb y topsoil) (Walker < < < <r - < <t
et al. 2008). Although the duration of burning is WWW WWW
unknown, ita ppears that theb ones were burned at
temperatures slightly lower thanw ould have been u? u? u^ t _UO n UC MU0 0 ZOC ZOC ZOG
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Tung and Knudson] CHILDHOODL OST
Figure 5. Reconstructed trophy heads from EA72 and EA143.
used to fire terra-cotta or earthenware ceramics Trauma
(Rice 1987). There were four calottes, two frontal bones, two
partial facial areas, fourp artialm andibles, threec er
Disease
vical vertebrae, and eight hand phalanges, none of
Cribra orbitalia was observed on one of the four
which exhibited antemortem trauma (i.e., healed
child trophyh eads (25 percent),w hich suggests that fractures).T hus, ita ppears that these children did
thea ffected individualm ay have sufferedf roma ne not sufferf rom injurye arlier in theirc hildhoods.
mia (Ortner et al. 2001; Stuart-Macadam 1987; All juvenile elements were examined for peri
Walker 1986;W alker et al. 2009) or inflammation mortem trauma (i.e., injuries thato ccur around the
caused by a dental abscess, sinusitis,o r other naso timeo f death).A perimortem fracturew as observed
oral infections (Wapler et al. 2004). In short, those on the lamina of a cervical vertebra fromE A143
lesions indicateg eneral physiological stressa mong Tr-P (Figure 10), the same child thats howed chop
a quarter of the children thatw ere made into tro marks on them andibular ascending ramus. The
phy heads. In contrast, only five percent (N = 19) affected vertebra is either cervical vertebra 4,5,6,
of children that received proper burial in a Con or 7. The angle of the break and the homogenous
chopata tomb sufferedf rom similarb iological stres color of theb roken edge and the surroundingb one
sors. However, the difference is not statistically indicate thatt hef racturew as perimortem, not post
significant (Fisher's exact, p = .324,N = 23). mortem.
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