Mummy Mystery Solved: Inca Woman Possibly Ritually Sacrificed

New research concludes that a female mummy that was previously unidentified was most likely killed in a ritual sacrifice in South America.

Scientists analyzed the woman's skull to find that she received blunt trauma to the head, suggesting she died quickly after being struck.

According to BBC News, DNA evidence also reveals that she had a parasitic infection called Chagas disease. Her symptoms suggest that she would not have lived much longer if she hadn't been sacrificed.

Chagas is a disease that is still present in South America, especially among those living in poverty, and can be deadly if not treated.

Andreas Nerlich, the co-author of the study from Munich University, said the girl was most likely from an impoverished family.

"The parasite lives in mud-brick walls typical of those from lower social classes, not in stone houses or better equipped, cleaner surroundings," he said.

It was unclear for more than 100 years where the mummy was from, but now, due to CT scans, DNA evidence and injury reconstructions, information has been revealed about her origins.

The mummified woman is over 500 years old, and died in her early 20s. She was reportedly brought to Germany after a Bavarian princess brought her back from an expedition to South America in 1898.

While her exact country of origin remains unclear, stable isotope analysis of her hair and bones suggests she ate a diet rich in fish, indicating that she lived near the Peruvian or Northern Chilean coast.

The rope that tied her hair was also made out of material that originated in South America, and her skull is a similar shape to those of the Incans.

She was buried in a hot, dry, sandy region, which resulted in natural mummification.

But for years, many believed she had been from Germany. "We assumed she died in a ritual killing but we have no clear evidence from written sources," explained Nerlich.

"Present-day techniques offer such a wealth of information that we can reconstruct various aspects of past lives, diseases and death."

The analysis can also help scientists understand the origin of Chagas and its molecular construction.

Young girls were often sacrificed in the Incan empire to the sun god and in other religious rituals.

Yet, scientists are still not 100 percent certain that she was a ritual sacrifice. Most sacrificial women were in their early to mid teens, and extreme forms of violence during the conquest-era could also explain the head trauma.

You can see the photos of the mummy here.