Gene Study Reveals Relationships Inside a Moche Tomb

SANTA CRUZ, CALIFORNIA—According to a Live Science report, Lars Fehren-Schmitz of the University of California, Santa Cruz, and his colleagues analyzed genomes obtained from the remains of six people recovered in 2005 from four tombs situated under Huaca Cao Viejo, a pyramid-like structure in Peru at the Moche site of El Brujo. The remains were identified as a high-status woman dubbed the Señora de Cao, three men, and two teens who had been strangled with ropes. Radiocarbon dating of the bones indicates that five of the individuals had died at about the same time, some 1,500 years ago, while the genetic analysis shows that the sacrificed young girl was likely the niece of the Señora de Cao. Two of the men were likely to have been the lady’s brothers, and one of them to have been the girl’s father. The third man, who had died decades earlier, is thought to have been the father or grandfather of the other three adults. Analysis of the boy’s genome suggests that he had been sacrificed and buried with his father. Research team member Jeffrey Quilter of Harvard University suggests that the sacrifices may have been arranged by members of the royal court. “So, some kind of court intrigue could have led to the outcomes we found in the burials,” he surmised. Read the original scholarly article about this research in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. To read about another genetic study of skilled workers buried at Machu Picchu, go to "Inca Workers' Homelands," one of ARCHAEOLOGY's Top 10 Discoveries of 2023.