MICROSCOPIC ANALYSIS OF BOTANICAL RESIDUES FROM CERRO ESMERALDA BURIAL IN NORTHERN CHILE: STATE AND DEATH RITUAL IMPLICATIONS
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2016
- handle: 10670/1.6w9lni
- 0378-1844
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http://www.redalyc.org/revista.oa
Interciencia
Mots-clés
Multidisciplinarias (Ciencias Sociales) Chile Starch Mummies Chicha Drinks Human SacrificeSujets proches
Funeral and memorial services Biography--Last years and death Last illness Burial Interment Funeral Biography--Death and burial Farinaceous products Products, Farinaceous Potato starch Amylum Chicha (Liquor)Citer ce document
Bernardo Arriaza et al., « MICROSCOPIC ANALYSIS OF BOTANICAL RESIDUES FROM CERRO ESMERALDA BURIAL IN NORTHERN CHILE: STATE AND DEATH RITUAL IMPLICATIONS », Interciencia, ID : 10670/1.6w9lni
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Résumé
"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."