Evidence map›Paper›PMID 42455885›Full record

ArticleScience advances2026

Pilgrimage to sacrifice: Mechanisms, causes, and time of death of the Western Andean Capacocha of the Southern Tawantinsuyu.

Verónica Silva-Pinto, Marcela Sepúlveda, Eugenia M Gayo, Pablo Mendez-Quiros, Mario Castro, Lumila Paula Menéndez, Gonzalo M Rojas-Costa, María L Cerón, Andrew S Wilson, Verónica Catalán and 4 more

Abstract readHistorical Article
In one paragraph

Article in Science advances, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
0citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

0 citing papers in PubMed.

No citing paper in PubMed yet.

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

14 authors.

Verónica Silva-PintoPrograma de Doctorado en Geografía e Historia del Mediterráneo desde la Prehistoria a la Edad Moderna, Universitat de València, València, Spain.ORCID 0000-0001-5826-9676
Marcela SepúlvedaDepartamento de Ciencias Sociales, Universidad de Tarapacá, Iquique, Chile.ORCID 0000-0001-8443-0136
Eugenia M GayoDepartamento de Geografía, Universidad de Chile, Santiago, Chile.
Pablo Mendez-QuirosDepartamento de Antropología, Universidad de Chile, Santiago, Chile.
Mario CastroMuseo Nacional de Historia Natural, Santiago, Chile.ORCID 0000-0003-4902-1331
Lumila Paula MenéndezDepartment of Anthropology of the Americas, University of Bonn, Bonn, Germany.ORCID 0000-0002-7867-2910
Gonzalo M Rojas-CostaSchool of Medicine, Finis Terrae University, 7501015 Santiago, Chile.ORCID 0000-0002-6228-2678
María L CerónFacultad de Ingeniería, Universidad Finis Terrae, Santiago, Chile.ORCID 0000-0001-8662-8189
Andrew S WilsonSchool of Archaeological and Forensic Sciences, University of Bradford, Bradford, UK.ORCID 0000-0003-1346-937X
Verónica CatalánServicio de Dermatología, Clínica Alemana-Universidad del Desarrollo, Santiago, Chile.ORCID 0000-0002-4624-4217
Claudio SilvaDepartamento de Imagenología, Facultad de Medicina, Clínica Alemana-Universidad del Desarrollo, Santiago, Chile.ORCID 0000-0003-2472-1833
Ximena StecherDepartamento de Imagenología, Facultad de Medicina, Clínica Alemana-Universidad del Desarrollo, Santiago, Chile.ORCID 0000-0002-7962-9519
Pablo SoffiaDepartamento de Imagenología, Facultad de Medicina, Clínica Alemana-Universidad del Desarrollo, Santiago, Chile.ORCID 0009-0005-8433-0094
Domingo C Salazar-GarcíaDepartament de Prehistòria, Arqueologia i Història Antiga, Universitat de València, València, Spain.ORCID 0000-0002-8017-0194

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Capacocha was a key Inca state rite that intertwined pilgrimage, sacrifice, and imperial incorporation across the Andes. We present a multianalytical investigation into two Capacocha cases from the western slope of the Andes: Cerro Esmeralda, located in the coastal Atacama Desert of northern Chile, and Cerro El Plomo, in the high mountains of central Chile. Stable isotope analysis reveals commensality practices during the pilgrimage, integrating local communities into the imperial order. Furthermore, computed tomography, dermatoscopy, and skin histology provide new evidence regarding the causes and mechanisms of death, identifying violent acts associated with sacrifice. Last, we present a pair of radiocarbon dates to discuss the chronology of both Capacocha contexts. In sum, these practices specify the materialization of Inca statecraft and contribute to characterizing the complexity and diversity of Capacocha ritual as an extension of the Inca biopolitical conquest.

Identifiers

PMID42455885
PMCPMC13371884

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.