Centuries-old Inca offering discovered in sacred lake

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A new discovery, published today in the journal Antiquity, offers fresh insights into the Inca belief system, which was likely tied not only to politics, pleas for fertility, and a goddess known as Mama Cocha—the sea mother—but also to blood-filled offerings that clouded the waters of one of the world’s largest lakes.

During an underwater survey of the lake, which straddles Bolivia and Peru, an international team of archaeologists recovered an offering box made of andesite, a local volcanic stone, that was lying on a reef some 18 feet below the surface of the lake. Measuring about 14 by 10 by 6.5 inches, it had a concave offering cavity that was sealed by a round stone plug, undisturbed since the box was deposited more than five centuries ago.

Inside the box, the scientists found a tiny rolled cylinder of gold sheeting and a figurine of a llama made from Spondylus, the coral-hued shell of a spiny oyster that was rare and valuable. 

The offerings were possibly linked to a cult of Inca ancestors, and to pilgrimage ceremonies that took place on the Island of the Sun. 

“The Inca believed in religious traditions that were never separate from political and economic ones,” said Reinhard, who was not part of the discovery team.

As scientists continue to comb the extensive depths of Lake Titicaca—which covers some 3,200 square miles—they will surely accumulate more evidence of the Incas’ strange and mysterious rituals.

Source: https://www.nationalgeographic.com/history/2020/08/centuries-old-inca-offering-discovered-sacred-lake/

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A new discovery, published today in the journal Antiquity, offers fresh insights into the Inca belief system, which was likely tied not only to politics, pleas for fertility, and a goddess known as Mama Cocha—the sea mother—but also to blood-filled offerings that clouded the waters of one of the world’s largest lakes.