Under the Empire’s Eye: The Psychosocial Stress of Chimú Human Sacrifice (1100–1450 CE)

For centuries, the Chimú Empire (1100–1470 CE) ruled Peru’s North Coast, consolidating power through conquest, ideology, and spectacular rituals of human and animal sacrifice. Excavations at the coastal sites of Pampa La Cruz (PLC) and Huanchaquito Las Llamas (HLL) have uncovered the largest known mass sacrifices in the pre-Hispanic Americas, where hundreds of children, young women, and camelids were ritually killed during moments of political and environmental upheaval. Despite the scale of these events, little was known about the lived experiences of those chosen for sacrifice in the months leading up to their deaths. This dissertation investigates the psychosocial stress of Chimú sacrificial victims by applying palaeoendocrinology to preserved human hair. I analyzed hair cortisol concentrations (HCC) from 61 individuals, integrating these results with evidence of skeletal trauma, mortuary practices, and environmental instability linked to El Niño floods. Because hair records stress in monthly increments, this method provides rare molecular insight into short-term experiences often invisible in skeletal remains. Four primary insights emerge from this molecular and archaeological dataset. First, many individuals exhibited elevated cortisol in the months preceding death, reflecting the psychosocial toll of containment, anticipation, and ritual preparation. Second, stress levels were higher in the late Chimú sacrifices at HLL, underscoring the combined pressures of ecological catastrophe and imperial fragility. Third, older children consistently displayed higher stress than younger ones, pointing to age-based differences in the embodied experience of sacrifice. Fourth, individuals subjected to invasive procedures, such as heart extraction, showed distinct cortisol profiles compared to those without such evidence, suggesting that ritual modality shaped stress in measurable ways. This study demonstrates how Chimú imperial power was inscribed onto the body at multiple scales, from structural violence to acute hormonal stress. By combining molecular data with archaeological context, it reframes sacrifice as a prolonged, embodied process of imperial control and establishes cortisol analysis as a powerful tool for reconstructing lived experience in the ancient Andes.

Author dc:creator

• Benjamin J Schaefer (23292160)

• Anthropology, Physical
• Anthropology, Medical and Forensic
• Anthropology, Archaeology
• Gender Studies

Statement dc:rights

• In Copyright
• Open Access after 2028-01-01

DOI dc:identifier

https://doi.org/10.25417/uic.31451926.v1

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:figshare.com:article/31451926