22 February 2025 The Future is the Product of the Past

Archaeologists unearth human spines threaded onto reed posts in Peru

Archaeologists have found almost 192 examples of human vertebrae threaded onto reed posts 500 years ago in the Chincha Valley of Peru.

Between AD 1000 and 1400, the Chincha Valley was home to the sophisticated Chincha Kingdom. They established an alliance with the Inca Empire and were eventually consolidated into it.

The discovery, published in the journal Antiquity, highlights an Andean burial tradition that has only been found in this specific area of Western Peru, which is known as the Chincha Valley.

The Ancient spines threaded were recovered from burial sites in the Chincha Valley, where the local community was decimated by famine and disease epidemics following the arrival of Europeans.

Vertebrae-on-post inserted into a cranium, as found within a chullpa. This was the only example unearthed where the head was still attached to the spinal column. Photo by Jacob L Bongers
Vertebrae-on-post inserted into a cranium, as found within a chullpa. This was the only example unearthed where the head was still attached to the spinal column. Photo by Jacob L Bongers

The team was excavating elaborate indigenous graves known as chullpas, where they found human vertebrae threaded onto reed posts that date from the 16th century AD.

According to the researchers, the Chincha population declined from over 30,000 households in 1533 to just 979 half a century later, and many of the dead would have been ritually buried along with precious items made of gold.

It is therefore telling that all of the vertebrae-on-posts were dated to between 1450 and 1650 CE, a period when European colonialists raided and destroyed large numbers of indigenous graves in the region.

Vertebrae-on-post. Image: Jacob L. Bongers
Vertebrae-on-post. Image: Jacob L. Bongers

“Looting was primarily intended to remove grave goods made of gold and silver and would have gone hand in hand with European efforts to eradicate Indigenous religious practices and funerary customs,” explained study author Dr. Jacob L. Bongers from the University of East Anglia.

It is thought that the spines were reconstructed and held together with reeds many years after death, possibly due to the graves being looted and damaged by European settlers. The dead being buried intact was an important part of the culture of the Chincha people, so their reconstruction and reinterment would have been highly significant.

The discovery was made by an international team of researchers. Find out more.

ANTIQUITY

Related Articles

The Earliest Evidence of a Domesticated Dog in the Arabian Peninsula

9 April 2021

9 April 2021

Dogs have been the best friend of humans since ancient times. Although it is not known exactly when dogs were...

Netherlands’s unique treasure finds of medieval gold jewelry and silver coins

12 March 2023

12 March 2023

The Rijksmuseum van Oudheden (the National Museum of Antiquities) in the Netherlands has announced that a unique treasure of 1000-year-old...

New Moai statue discovered on Easter Island

1 March 2023

1 March 2023

A new Moai statue has been discovered on Rapa Nui, a Chilean territory known as Easter Island. The sacred monument,...

Interesting discovery at Crowland digs, a human poo from the Saxon period or coprolite found

16 August 2021

16 August 2021

Excavations in Abbey Church Field in Crowland, near Peterborough, have also yielded such amazing finds results for archaeologists. The archaeological...

Beheaded croc reveals ancient family secrets

10 March 2022

10 March 2022

A missing link in crocodilian evolution and a tragic tale of human-driven extinction. The partially fossilized remains of a giant...

A Polish diplomat in Turkey has unravels the enigma of a long-lost ancient city

31 January 2022

31 January 2022

Robert D. Rokicki, a diplomat in the Polish embassy in Ankara used a unique method of “histracking” to find the...

Manot Cave yielded evidence for ritualistic gathering 35,000 years ago, the earliest on the Asian continent

13 January 2025

13 January 2025

Archaeological research at the Manot Cave in what is now the Galilee in northern Israel has uncovered evidence of ritualistic...

“Oracle Bone Inscriptions”, the world’s oldest writing system that has not disappeared in history

5 June 2023

5 June 2023

“Jiaguwen,” or the oracle bone inscriptions, are thought to be the earliest fully-developed characters as well as the source of...

A cave complex with hieroglyphs and Varangian symbols discovered in center of Ukraine

19 November 2022

19 November 2022

An ancient cave complex thought to date from Kievan Rus’ has been discovered in central Kyiv at Voznesensky Uzvoz. Dmytro...

A 1900-year-old stele was discovered in Turkey’s ancient city of Parion

5 August 2021

5 August 2021

A 1,900-year-old grave stele was found during excavations in Parion, an important ancient port city, near Kemer village in the...

Scotland’s oldest tartan discovered in Highlands bog

1 April 2023

1 April 2023

According to new research, a piece of fabric discovered in a bog in the Scottish Highlands may be the oldest...

A Christian monastery, possibly pre-dating Islam, found in UAE

6 November 2022

6 November 2022

A Christian monastery has been discovered on the island of Siniyah off the coast of the United Arab Emirates (UAE),...

Oregon may be home to oldest human occupied site in North America

12 July 2023

12 July 2023

Where and when the first humans appeared in North America is a contentious issue that many disagree on, and this...

God Pan statue unearthed at Istanbul’s historical church of St. Polyeuctus

1 June 2023

1 June 2023

A Pan statue thought to belong to the Roman period was recovered during excavation works carried out by Istanbul Metropolitan...

Ancient necropolis of stillborn babies and very young children found in Auxerre, France

8 June 2024

8 June 2024

A team from INRAP, France’s national archaeology and preservation agency, unearthed a necropolis dedicated to stillborn and very young children...