Mummy found, victim of a mysterious ritual

She was found on the border of Chile and Peru; Young would have between 20 and 25 years and coincides with the Inca period; suffered from Chagas disease In the German study, indicates that the mummy was the victim of a ritual killing five centuries. Besides suffering Chagas disease, as it shows signs of having suffered a severe trauma to the skull. 's mummified remains, found on the Pacific coast, remained for nearly a century without being identified in the Archaeological Collection Bavarian state. The Mum would have been carried German territory by a Bavarian princess who made an expedition to South America in the late nineteenth century. To solve the mystery the researchers used a computer image of the entire body, techniques of DNA analysis, isotope analysis and forensic reconstructions 3D. "Current techniques provide a wealth of information that allows us to reconstruct many aspects of past lives, including diseases and circumstances of death," he told the BBC Andreas Nerlich, a researcher at the University of Munich and co-author of the study, published online in the journal PLoS. SIGNS INCAS The method of radiocarbon dating revealed that the girl was between 20 and 25 years and lived between 1450 and 1640. Scientists do not know exactly where he lived, but have some clues. The isotopic analysis of nitrogen and carbon in the hair show a diet including corn probably fish, corresponding to the life in coastal regions. tissue fibers of the headband over the scalp are derived from llama or alpaca. The skull of the mummy is deformed tied bands that are typical of the Inca culture and computed tomography shows an "almost complete destruction of the bones of the face and forehead," the study said. "This supports the hypothesis of a ritual murder the type already described previously in South American mummies of individuals suffering from severe chronic Chagas disease. " Emma Brown, of the department of archeology at the University of Bradford in the UK, who was not involved in the study, says that due to the lack contextual data is very difficult to definitively determine whether the cause of death was a ritual sacrifice. "This young man has a greater age than the usual sacrificial victims, who typically had between 13 and 14 years," Brown told the BBC . "It's important to consider the historical context in which he lived young. Analyses of radiocarbon dating covering the period of the Spanish conquest of America." "And the historical records of the time describe extreme forms of violence and oppression. Recent research cemeteries time of the conquest revealed multiple cases of trauma, including beatings and massive cranial trauma such as this case. " EVIL Chagas Mum shows a thickening of the heart, rectum and small intestine, characteristic of people affected for Chagas disease, a tropical parasitic disease. The article notes that DNA analysis of parasites found in the tissue of the rectum also indicate the presence of Chagas disease, a condition that the young would probably have suffered since childhood. disease Chagas disease, also known as American trypanosomiasis, is a chronic disease usually transmitted by vectors and protozoarioTryapanosoma caused by cruzi.'s main transmission mechanism is vectorial, by Hemiptera (bugs). 's condition has been characterized as a disease of poverty, deficit linked to socioeconomic conditions. Nerlich believes that young probably came from a poor family. "The parasite lives in mud walls typical of the houses of the lower social classes, unlike stone walls built in less unhealthy environments" , told the BBC German researcher. Scientists now hope that the analysis of the mummy help the study of Chagas disease pathogen and its molecular structure.