February 24, 2015

Ancient De-Fleshing of Human Corpses in Ancient Bolivia.

Archaeologists have found an ancient mortuary in Bolivia at the site of Khonkho Wankane, where corpses were defleshed and cleaned to carry in pieces. The bodies were boiled in pots of quicklime. The human remains were found in a circular building where there were 1000 teeth and small bones sheathed in white plaster. Ceramics and tools made from llama bones were also in white plaster. Blocks of quicklime were found for the use of defleshing the bones. Body parts were found in this substance, and carvings on a pillar show a human with defleshed ribs. The site was in use for 400 years. Since small bones remain there, the big bones were probably carried away. In this area, the dead were often disinterred for rituals and consultation. The people that stopped at the site were itinerant llama drivers who took the dead on the road with them.
The research is published in the journal Antiquity.
USA Today has the report here with a photo;
http://www.usatoday.com/story/experience/food-and-wine/news-festivals-events/2015/02/22/mortuary-andean-mountain-ancient-chile/23715911/