Tests Find Cocaine Traces in Eight Inca Mummies

Toxicological testing of eight Inca mummies found cocaine-related traces in all of them and alcohol-related evidence in four, offering evidence that substances were used during the capacocha ritual of child sacrifice. Researchers also detected harmine in the remains of Juanita, known as the Lady of Ampato, but the findings do not establish the substances’ intended effects or why each was used. The study, published in Antiquity, examined hair and nail samples from mummies recovered at mountain sites. Chemicals can become embedded in these keratin structures, preserving evidence of exposure during a person’s life. Researchers said modern analytical methods can identify low concentrations that earlier testing may have missed. The cocaine-related traces were interpreted by the researchers as evidence that all eight individuals consumed coca. Coca had religious significance in Inca society and may also have helped people cope with altitude sickness or fatigue during journeys to high-altitude shrines, though the chemical findings do not establish that purpose. Alcohol-related evidence appeared in half of the tested mummies. Researchers proposed chicha, a fermented maize drink, as a...