Archaeologists have found that the Indians could string the vertebrae of the deceased on cane stalks to overcome the effects of grave desecration. An article about this was published in the journal Antiquity.

In 2012, archaeologists discovered many human vertebrae strung on stems in Peru's Chincha Valley. Over the next 20 years, researchers found about 200 similar remains in the area. Initially, this was taken as a joke by local residents, but they convinced archaeologists that such objects were indeed ancient, and genetic analysis of the remains showed that the vertebrae belonged to the Chincha Indians.

To figure out the purpose of these stems, Jacob Bongers of the University of East Anglia and colleagues cataloged 192 known specimens. Judging by the structure of the skeleton, most of the remains belong to adults, but there are also children.

The scientists then carried out radiocarbon dating of the bones and stems. It turned out that their owners died between 1520 and 1550, and they were strung on stems between 1550 and 1590. These dates roughly coincide with the arrival of the Spanish colonizers, who massively desecrated Indian graves as part of the "fight against idolatry" and also for the sake of treasures from the tombs.

The authors of the work believe that the Chincha strung vertebrae on stems after looting the graves in order to restore the spine of their relatives. For the Chincha, it is important to preserve the integrity of the body after death for religious reasons, and therefore at least a symbolic restoration was supposed to help the dead and restore their connection with the living members of the tribe.

bbabo.Net