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Trace elements in ancient Peruvian mummy hair: A preliminary report

  • Published:
International Journal of Anthropology

Abstract

Hair samples of 46 prehistoric mummies from five different pre-Inca sites in Peru were analyzed for Ca, Sr, Ni, Mn, and Ba by DCP/AES. The five sites displayed differing burial customs: whereas the dead of Cahuachi (n=13), Huayuri (n=2) and Brujo (n=5) had been interred unwrapped in simple stone pits, the mummies of Las Trancas (n=17) and Pacatnamu (n=9) had been granted protection by fabrics and wooden coffins. At the sites with no protection, the hair samples contained extremely high concentrations of Ca and Sr which by far exceeded the usual physiological ranges. This can probably be explained by contamination from the surrounding soil. In contrast, the protected depositions of Las Trancas and Pacatnamu exhibited Ca and Sr concentrations within the present range of variation. This may indicate that favourable conditions had prevented contamination in these cases. For Mn the same trend can be observed, both Cahuachi and Huayuri samples showed markedly increased values. For Ni and Ba on the other hand no correlation with the type of interment was found. In the two non-contaminated series, the mean values of Mn, Ba, and Ni were considerably higher in Las Trancas than in Pacatnamu. As Mn, Ni, and Ba tend to occur in higher concentrations in vegetable than in animal food items, these differences may indicate a differential availability of animal protein at the two locations

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute of Nutrition, University of Veterinary Medicine, Linke Bahngasse 11, A-1030, Vienna, Austria

    M. Wolfsperger

  2. Institute of Human Biology, University of Vienna, Althanstr. 14, A-1090, Vienna, Austria

    H. Wilfing & K. Matiasek

  3. Dept. of Anthropology, Museum of Natural History, Burgring 7, A-1010, Vienna, Austria

    M. Teschler-Nicola

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  1. M. Wolfsperger
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  2. H. Wilfing
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  3. K. Matiasek
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  4. M. Teschler-Nicola
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Wolfsperger, M., Wilfing, H., Matiasek, K. et al. Trace elements in ancient Peruvian mummy hair: A preliminary report. Int. J. Anthropol. 8, 27–33 (1993). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02447640

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02447640

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