CASE REPORT

A case study of a high-status human skeleton from Pacopampain Formative Period Peru

Tomohito Nagaoka • Yuji Seki • Wataru Morita •

Kazuhiro Uzawa • Diana Aleman Paredes •

Daniel Morales Chocano

Received: 19 August 2011 / Accepted: 13 October 2011

� Japanese Association of Anatomists 2011

Abstract The Pacopampa site is located in the northern

highlands of Peru and is an archaeological site belonging to

the Formative Period (2500–1 BC). The excavation of the

Pacopampa site yielded unusual human skeletons from the

main platform of a ceremonial center of the site during the

2009 field season. The skeletal remains were associated

with a pair of gold earplugs, a pair of gold earrings, and

shell objects. This specimen is possibly a female aged

20–39 years. Detailed examination of the neurocranium

revealed the presence of artificial cranial deformation with

decreased cranial length, increased cranial breadth, and

lateral bulging of the parietal bones. The estimated stature

of this individual was 162 cm, which is about 15 cm higher

than that of contemporary females of Pacopampa and about

20–25 cm higher than that of other Formative Period sites

in northern Peru. The peculiarity of this individual, detec-

ted not only in the cultural artifacts but also in the physical

features, is possible evidence for social stratification in the

Formative Period.

Keywords Artificial cranial deformation �Bioarchaeology � Formative Period � Human skeleton �Peru

Introduction

The Pacopampa site is a Formative Period (2500–1 BC) site

in the northern highlands of Peru (Fig. 1). First excavation of

this site was conducted by a Peruvian archaeologist, Rafael

Larco Hoyle, in 1939. Further excavations made since the

mid-twentieth century (e.g., Rosas and Shady 1970) have

yielded cultural artifacts related to ritual practices and

revealed that the Pacopampa site played an important role as

a ceremonial center in the northern highlands.

In the 1960s, excavation of the Formative Period site of

Kotosh, in the northern highlands, demonstrated that the

construction of ceremonial architectures preceded the

manufacture of pottery and made an impact on socioeco-

nomic development (Onuki 1998). The construction and

renovation of ceremonial architecture required laborers and

food supplies, attracted people to the temples, led to greater

use of domesticated animals and plants, and hence to greater

socioeconomic development (Seki 2006). Further work on

ceremonial architecture at Huacaloma and Layzon in the

northern highlands has made it clear that renovation activi-

ties were important for social integration during the For-

mative Period. However, social development based on the

construction and renovation of ceremonial architecture did

have limitations because there is no evidence for social

hierarchy at Huacaloma and other sites. This contrasts with

the evidence from recent investigations at Kuntur Wasi in

the northern highlands. These indicate that social differen-

tiation was based on the long distance trade of precious

goods (Inokuchi 2001). From Kuntur Wasi more than seven

T. Nagaoka (&)

Department of Anatomy, St. Marianna University School

of Medicine, 2-16-1 Sugao, Miyamae Ward, Kawasaki,

Kanagawa 216-8511, Japan

e-mail: nagaoka@marianna-u.ac.jp

Y. Seki

National Museum of Ethnology, Suita, Japan

W. Morita

Graduate School of Science, Kyoto University, Kyoto, Japan

K. Uzawa

Faculty of Human Sciences, University of East Asia,

Shimonoseki, Japan

D. Aleman Paredes � D. Morales Chocano

Universidad Nacional Mayor de San Marcos, Lima, Peru

123

Anat Sci Int

DOI 10.1007/s12565-011-0120-z

tombs were unearthed and found to contain gold objects,

Ecuadorian shell ornaments, and Bolivian sodalite beads.

Moreover, these tombs have a complex, boot-shaped struc-

ture and evidence of a fronto-occipital type of cranial

deformation associated with cinnabar, which suggests to us

that the individuals buried had special roles in society as

members of an elite group.

To examine the socioeconomic dynamics leading to the

rise and development of the Andean civilization, we began

new work at an archaeological site with ceremonial archi-

tectures similar to those at Kuntur Wasi and Huacaloma,

namely the Pacopampa site, which is one of the largest

Formative sites in northern highlands of Peru. The first

author participated in an interdisciplinary project called the

Pacopampa archaeological project during four field seasons

(2007–2010) and examined the excavated human skeletal

remains (Nagaoka et al. 2009). The most exciting finding

was an unusual human skeleton from a ceremonial center of

the Pacopampa site. Here we report the features of this

specimen from the osteoarchaeological perspectives.

Case report

The sample used here is no. 2009-C-Ent09-2-H1, a human

skeleton from the Pacopampa site belonging to the

Pacopampa II cultural phase (800–500 BC). During the

Pacopampa II, a sunken plaza surrounded by three low

platforms was constructed, and the westernmost one was

called ‘‘the Central Platform.’’ This may have been the

most important religious space. The skeletal remains of the

buried individual were found in the Central Platform with a

pair of gold earplugs, a pair of gold earrings, and shell

objects including a necklace and leg ornaments (Fig. 2).

The body was placed in a flexed position, lying on the left

side, holding the left humerus with the right hand, and

probably with the face directed toward the west. Most of

the bones of this individual were well preserved, but the

face, pubis, and left humerus were fragmented. Cinnabar

and azurite were spread on its skull (red and blue pig-

ments). The use of azurite for blue pigment has not been

detected in other burials of Pacopampa nor in other

archaeological sites in Peru.

Sex determination of this individual was carried out on

macroscopic assessment of the pelvic features (Bruzek

2002) and also on the cranial features as a secondary cri-

terion (Walker 2008). The diagnostic features of the greater

sciatic notch and composite arch—the broad and sym-

metric greater sciatic notch and double composite arch—

indicate that this individual possibly represents a female.

Little projection in the glabellar and nuchal regions and

mastoid processes (first or second grades in the Walker

system) supports this diagnosis, whereas frontal tuberosity

is not prominent and the mental eminence is third grade in

the Walker system. The age-at-death estimation of this

Fig. 1 Geographical location of the Pacopampa site in the northern

highlands of Peru

Fig. 2 The no. 2009-C-Ent09-2-H1 skeleton in situ

T. Nagaoka et al.

123

individual conducted based on chronological metamor-

phosis of the pubic symphysis (Brooks and Suchey 1990)

and the auricular surface of the ilium (Lovejoy et al. 1985;

Buckberry and Chamberlain 2002) indicates that, because

of being fourth stage in the Suchey-Brooks system and

third stage both in the Lovejoy system and in the Buck-

berry and Chamberlain one, this individual was estimated

to have been 20–39 years old. The estimated stature was

162.1 cm based on Genoves’ (1967) equations for the

maximum length of the tibia (363 mm in the right and

360 mm in the left). Dental caries was observed on an

occlusal surface of a lower left second premolar out of 30

teeth. Both the maxilla and mandible were absorbed and

reduced, and a periodontal disease was diagnosed on the

basis of the observation of a horizontal reduction in alve-

olar bone height. Detailed examination of the neurocra-

nium further revealed the presence of artificial cranial

deformation (ACD). The neurocranium exhibited a verti-

cally flattened occipital bone, but the roundness of the

frontal bone was retained (Fig. 3). This cranial vault is

characterized by decreased cranial length and increased

cranial breadth, and also by lateral bulging of the parietal

bones. The maximum cranial length is 154 mm, the max-

imum cranial breadth is 182 mm, and the cranial index is

118.2.

Discussion

The two most commonly described types of ACD are cir-

cumferential and fronto-occipital deformation (Clark et al.

2007; Ricci et al. 2008). As for the former, the application

of bands or tree bark around the cranial vault elongated the

cranial vault in the postero-superior direction. The latter

was produced when pads or hard instruments were applied

to the frontal or occipital regions. Pressure on the cranial

vault restricted the antero-occipital direction of cranial

growth, which resulted in decreased cranial length and

increased cranial breadth, and occasionally produced lat-

eral bulging of the parietal bones.

It is interesting that this individual exhibited evidence of

ACD. In the case of Pacopampa, ACD was found only in

this burial, not in others (Nagaoka et al. 2009). The features

of decreased cranial length, increased cranial breadth, and

lateral bulging of the parietal bones are consistent with the

diagnostic standards of fronto-occipital deformation (Clark

et al. 2007; Ricci et al. 2008) and were similar to the

morphological features of the cranial deformation in the

Huacaloma skulls (Morimoto and Yoshida 1985).

According to Morimoto and Yoshida (1985), this type of

deformation had not been found in the Andean regions

before their description. The newly excavated cranium

from the Pacopampa site is, therefore, a rare additional case

of the fronto-occipital type deformation and indicates that

the deformation was more wide spread in the northern

highlands than expected.

Both deformed and non-deformed individuals appeared

within the Pacopampa site, and the practice of deformation

there was associated with a rich repertoire of grave goods.

The central position and the precious offerings all indicate

that the individual buried had symbolic importance and

belonged to an elite social group (Seki 2010). Moreover,

the stratigraphic position of the tomb between the earlier

and later phases of construction suggests that it may have

held a communal founder or ancestor who conferred sacred

power on the Central Platform during the Pacopampa II

(Seki 2010). Ortner (2003: 164) demonstrated that ACD

has often been a ‘‘physical manifestation of high social

status.’’ A combination of osteological and archaeological

data implies that the individual was socially different from

other burial specimens of the Pacopampa site.

The estimated stature of this individual also showed a

contrast with those of both females and males from other

contemporary burials. The stature is about 15 cm higher

than that of contemporary females of Pacopampa

(146.7 cm) (Nagaoka et al. 2009) and about 20–25 cm

higher than that of other Formative Period sites in northern

Peru—Kuntur Wasi (142.0 cm) and Hucaloma (135.0 cm)

(Matsumura et al. 1997). Even when compared with males,

the stature of this individual is equivalent to or about

Fig. 3 The no. 2009-C-Ent09-2-H1 cranium. a Anterior view,

b superior view, c posterior view, d right lateral view, e left lateral

view

A high-status human skeleton

123

5–10 cm higher than that of males from other sites. We do

not know whether the difference was related to good

nutritional conditions surrounding this individual, uniden-

tified pathological factors (e.g., adeoma of the anterior lobe

of the pituitary glands), misclassification of sex, or other

reasons. However, the third explanation is the least possi-

ble, because this individual is even taller than contempo-

rary males. The accuracy of sex determination based on

Bruzek’s method for the greater sciatic notch and com-

posite arch is about 70–90% (Bruzek 2002).

The peculiarity of this individual, detected not only in

the cultural artifacts but also in the physical features,

strongly indicates inequality in the Formative Period

societies. Because ACD was customarily carried out during

the first month of life (Ricci et al. 2008), it is easily

assumed that this individual was made to be a high-status

person. It is concluded that the motivation of ACD in Pa-

copampa was a manifestation of high status in stratified

societies in Formative Period Peru.

Acknowledgments This study was supported by KAKENHI (no.

19251013, 20770197).

Conflict of interest There is no conflict of interest.

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