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Dagmara Socha is wearing a lab coat as she examine remains of the Inca mummy wrapped in plastic.
Dagmara Socha, lead author on the study, looks at the remains of one of the children sacrificed by the Incas.Dagmara Socha
  • The first archeological evidence of ayahuasca was found by a study.

  • There were traces of the drug in the hair and toes of the mummified children.

  • A study author told Insider that it may have been administered to the children to keep them happy.

The ayahuasca drug was given to the children before they died.

The findings are the first to link ayahuasca to the Inka culture. The drug may have been used as an anti-depressant to make sure the children were happy as they were sent off to the gods, according to the study of two child mummies.

In the past, we didn't know if the ayahuasca was used. The lead author of the study, a bioarchaeologist from the Centre for Andean Studies at the University of Warsaw, told Insider that they can see that they could have known it was an antidepressant.

A cloudy morning at Machu Picchu, with tourists taking pictures.
The royal estate of Machu Picchu is a surviving example of the Inca civilisation.Joseph Hostetler/Insider

Ritual sacrifices called capacochas

The largest empire ever seen in South America was created by the Inka from the 1400s to 1532.

The Incas were known for their architecture with geometric designs, elaborate culture, costumes, and artwork.

The Emperor, the Sapa Inca, came from the capital Cuzco.

Around the sun god Inti. The sacrifice of children and young women was part of the religion.

It was a momentous, state ceremony undertaken only occasionally as required by special circumstances, such as the death of an emperor, the birth of a royal son, or a great victory in battle.

Young women and children who were selected for their beauty or remarkable attributes were often sacrificed on mountain tops. They were killed in a number of brutal ways, including being buried alive or left to freeze to death.

A statue made of silver as a likeness of a Llama is shown on a dark background.
A silver lama found in the grave of one of the Inca children sacrificed in a capacocha.Johan Reinhard

Evidence lost in translation

Archeological evidence shows that the Huari people used ayahuasca for hallucinogenic properties.

There was no historical record showing the use of ayahuasca by the Incans.

Socha thinks that the Inca didn't have a writing system. Spanish chroniclers used second-hand accounts to keep records of the ceremony.

The priest was drinking and acting weird. She said they don't know if they were drinking alcohol or if they were drinking something else.

Socha carried out a toxicology analysis on the soft tissues of the children who died in the capacochas to understand if ayahuasca was used.

The mummy Ampato 2
One of the mummies sacrificed by the Inca pictured when they were discovered in 1995.Johan Reinhard

Evidence of ayahuasca

She focused on the mummies of two children, a 15-year-old and a young child under the age of ten, which were found frozen in 1995 near the top of the Ampato mountain.

A map shows the location of the Ampato volcano compared to the Inca capital Cuzco.
The Ampato mountain is about 160 miles from Cuzco.Google Maps/Insider
Volcan Ampato. Cordillera De Los Andes. Peru.
Volcan Ampato. Cordillera De Los Andes. Peru.Giovanni Mereghetti/Education Images/Universal Images Group via Getty Images

The children were killed in different places.

Although they have been well preserved by the cold, the precious metal they were buried with and the high location of their burial sites means the youngest child's grave was hit by lightning.

Some soft tissue did not die.

The compound found in modern-day ayahuasca is called harmine.

In the last two weeks of their lives, the children chewed on coca leaves and drank a beverage made from the ayahuasca liana.

It is the first time I have seen archaeological evidence of the use of ayahuasca among the Inka.

A colourful deep blue cloth with a orange stripe across the bottom.
A tunic found near the burial sites.Johan Reinhard

Happy children for happy gods

Socha said that the ayahuasca vine is not hallucinogenic. The drug of the same name is mixed with another hallucinogenic component.

We only find the harmine in our study. Socha said that they didn't find hallucinogenic stuff.

The hallucinogenic may have been given to the children but didn't show up in the analysis. She said that the hallucinogenic component could end with death if the children were high in the mountains.

It is more probable that the Incas used the drug as an antidepressants.

Socha said that harmine could have anti-depressant properties. The children were a gift to the gods. She said that they need to be happy, well dressed, and well fed.

The original article is on Business Insider.

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