Bioarchaeological evidence of decapitation from Pacopampa in the northern Peruvian highlands.

Little is known about the precise date of the emergence of decapitation in a ritual context and the presence of systematic postmortem modification patterns in the ancient Central Andes. The ceremonial complex at Pacopampa in the northern Peruvian highlands provides early osteological evidence of decapitation in six individuals dating to the latter half of the Late-Final Formative Periods (500-50 BC) and to the Early Cajamarca Period (AD 200-450). Based on osteological evidence, and when taken together with archaeological settings and settlement patterns, researchers can be certain that those whose heads were disembodied were not likely to have been involved in organized battles.

A case study of a high-status human skeleton from Pacopampa in Formative Period Peru.

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.