The Inka mummy from Mount Aconcagua: Decoding the geographic origin of the “Messenger to the Deities” by means of stable carbon, nitrogen, and sulfur isotope analysis

Human sacrifices were a ritual practice during the expansion of the Inka Empire. Nevertheless, the homeland of the victims has never been clearly determined. A mummy recently found in a mediterranean environment in the Andes of Argentina provides a unique opportunity to shed some light on the matter. His clothing and funerary trousseau give no evidence regarding his ethnic filiation, geographic origin, nor whether he belonged to the local population or to the Inka elite. Therefore, a decodification of his geographic origin was attempted. This was done through the reconstruction of his palaeodiet: A diet based on continental products would indicate a local origin whereas one including marine food would suggest ties with the Pacific littoral and, indirectly, a foreign origin. Carbon, nitrogen, and sulfur isotope ratios of the mummy's bone collagen and hair were compared with values from archaeological populations from littoral and altiplanic environments of South America. The carbon and nitrogen isotopic values of bone collagen were ambiguous tracers, indicating either a continental diet with a high percentage of maize, one including a certain amount of marine products, or a combination of both. The carbon and sulfur isotopic values of hair were conclusive, indicating a clear continental origin of the diet, at least during the period of a year and a half before death. © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.