There exist numerous reports on violence in South American populations which shed a particular light on life and living conditions in those historic communities. Most studies have been performed on collections of isolated skulls.
Whole-body investigations especially on well-preserved mummified human remains are rare. In the present study we investigated three South American mummies predating the Colonial Spanish period. The analysis of the textiles, ceramics and fishing tools associated with his naturally mummified body suggests that he most likely originated from the Arica region in Northern Chile and was possibly part of a fishing community.
The mummies, the textiles and grave goods were investigated. The ceramics suggest a provenance from the Arequipa region, supposing that all the artifacts were originally associated with the two mummies. All mummies underwent Multidetector Computed Tomography which showed evidence of trauma, some of which were interpreted as evidence of interpersonal violence. An interdisciplinary approach was applied with the particular intention to identify trauma sequels and to evaluate their paleo-forensic potential.
Evidence of violence was identified in the two male individuals. Our study provides evidence that the interdisciplinary investigation of well-preserved human remains may detect much more frequent traces of intentional trauma than previously thought. We therefore add further evidence of two cases of lethal trauma in pre-colonial South-American male individuals.
In pre-Columbian South-American history, there is significant evidence for trauma and intentional violence in various geographical areas and different levels of social organization, although no data indicate a particularly high epidemiological level of trauma.
