Skulls Found In Ancient Trash Heap Point To Incan Brutality Against Rebellious Village

In the ruins of Iglesia Colorada, an ancient Incan village in the foothills of the Andes, researchers have discovered four skulls. Found in the remains of a garbage dump among ancient food scraps and broken pieces of discarded pottery, this was a clear indication that there was no formal burial. Their bodies were nowhere to be found, with no jewelry insight to carry them on to the afterlife. No one knew why they were there.

This mystery went unanswered for over 15 years since the skulls were uncovered in 2003. But two researchers at the National Museum of Natural History in Santiago, Chile, have offered an explanation: The skulls are a sign of ruling-class brutality in the Incan Empire, in which the severed heads of four villagers were erected as a warning display to the common people.

The expansion of the Incan empire across the Andes made the late 1400s to early 1500s a turbulent time for much of South America. Despite the existence of civilizations in the Andes valleys, they were predominantly isolated, said study co-author Francisco Garrido, the curator of archaeology at the National Museum of Natural History. While some of these places probably joined the empire without much resistance, others weren't so amenable, he added.

"They really didn't buy the idea of incorporating to an Incan empire," Garrido told Live Science.

That was probably the case in the town of Iglesia Colorada, Garrido and his co-author, Catalina Morales, argue. To support their hypothesis, they noted that the mysterious skulls in the pile of trash date back to this period of Incan expansion. Conquerors presumably resorted to violence to intimidate the villagers into deference.

Since the start, the archaeologists could tell that the rubbish heap was not a regular grave. This same village had a known gravesite, a well-planned network of circular graves secured by logs, in which the remains of whole bodies (no decapitated skeletons) were found amid pottery and jewelry.

The lack of regard shown in the disposal of these skulls was not the only indication of these victims’ gruesome death. The skulls all share among them common markings: drilled holes and strange marks around the jaws, like the heads had seemingly been scraped. The holes suggest that the skulls were strung up on a rope so that everyone in the village could see the warning, Garrido said. The scrape marks indicate that the jaws were skinned before the heads were put on display — presumably for the shock value, he added. The bones’ densities suggest the victims were malnourished.

"It doesn't seem that the Incas targeted the leaders [of the village]," Garrido explained. That's because healthy young males would have been valuable for their empire — serving as laborers, warriors or as a source of tax revenue.

But this reign of terror wasn't widespread across the empire, Garrido points out. "It wasn't a killing spree," he said.

Rather, this appalling demonstration was unique only to this town. Not only was the village most likely rebellious — it might have posed a logistical challenge to the Incan empire, Garrido said. Iglesia Colorado was landlocked and located in the driest region of the world, the Atacama desert. The Incan empire presumptively faced a great challenge in governing the town, being unable to send government resources so far from their capital city and not being adept at dealing with the extreme terrain. Rebellious locals, with specialized knowledge of how to survive in the harsh environment, would have had the upper hand over the invaders, Garrido added. In order to demonstrate power and control (and perhaps instill a lasting sense of fear) the Incas may have resorted to extreme measures — like stringing trophy skulls for an entire village to see, Garrido said.