Received: 8 March 2019 Accepted: 27 March 2019

DOI: 10.1002/oa.2755

RESEARCH ARTICLE

Inka sacrificial guinea pigs from Tambo Viejo, Peru

Lidio M. Valdez

Institute of Andean Studies and Acari Valley

Archaeological Project, Edmonton, AB, Canada
Correspondence
Correspondece Lidio M. Valdez, Institute of
Andean Studies and Acari Valley
Archaeological Project, 4024‐105B St.
Edmonton, AB T6J 6L6, Canada.
Email: lidio9@yahoo.es
Abstract
Early Spaniards reported that the Inkas periodically slaughtered hundreds of animals,
guinea pigs being the most common sacrificial animals. It is stated that in a single cer-
emony, hundreds of guinea pigs were killed. Although the ethnohistorical accounts
provide good information about the Inka motivations for guinea pig sacrifice, archae-
ologically, the occurrence of large numbers of sacrificed guinea pigs had not been

Funding information found. Recent research conducted at the Inka site of Tambo Viejo, in the Acari Valley
Social Sciences and Humanities Research of the Peruvian south coast, encountered several dozens of sacrificed guinea pigs that
Council of Canada
overall represent the single largest find known for the entire former Inka territory. In
preparation for sacrifice, some of guinea pigs had been adorned with colorful strings
that were placed as earrings as well with colorful necklaces also made from colorful
strings. Some of the guinea pigs were also enveloped in a rug before burial. Similar
evidence is unknown from anywhere within the former Inka territory, making the evi-
dence from Tambo Viejo unparalleled.

K E Y W OR D S

Acari Valley, guinea pigs, Inka, Peruvian South Coast, ritual, Tambo Viejo

1 | I N T RO D U CT I O N common sacrifices consisted of domestic animals, such as llamas (Lama

In Inca Religion and Customs, Father Bernabé Cobo made it explicit that
the Inkas were one of “the most encumbered with ceremonies, super-
stitions, idols, and sacrifices” (Cobo, 1990:8). The above was due to
the fact that the Inkas worshiped several deities, some of which were
heavenly, such as the Sun (Inti) and the Moon (Killa), but high moun-
tains (Apus), the ocean (Mamaqocha), and the earth (Pachamama) were
also venerated and periodically provided with offerings (Reinhard &
Ceruti, 2010:5). The Inkas strongly believed that a good harvest,
healthy herds, success in wars, and so on were heavily influenced by
the deities. Besides the divinities, other highly significant activities,
such as maize planting and the annual census of the herds, were all
carried out accompanied by sacrifices (Cobo, 1979:215–216; Murra,
1983:102; Bonavía, 2008:159; D'Altroy, 2003:279; Rowe, 1946:212).
Sacrificial offerings included different entities and varied depend-
ing upon the importance of the deities or the activities. Rowe
(1946:305) stated that the “most valuable sacrifice was of human
beings,” but “were offered only to the most important divinities and
huacas on the most solemn occasions.” It is asserted that the most
glama) and guinea pigs (Cavia porcellus; de Arriaga, 1968:42; Gilmore,
1963:438–440; Murra, 1983:8587; Rowe, 1946:239; Kendall,
1973:100; Benson, 2001:10; Burger, 2004:92), and vegetable offer-
ings, such as maize (Zea mays) and coca leaves (Erythroxylum coca;
Rowe, 1946:306–7). For the specific case of the guinea pig (Andrews,
1975; Bolton, 1979; Brothwell, 1983; Valdez, 2000; Wing, 1975),
Spaniards, such as de Arriaga (1968):210), de Acosta (1962):206–7),
Polo de Ondegardo (1988):226), and Cobo (1990:113), among others,
pointed out that they were sacrificed in large numbers. For example, in
the month of July 1,000 white guinea pigs were sacrificed (Guaman
Poma de Ayala, 1980:175), and in the month of August another equal
number of the small rodents were sacrificed to Frost, Air, Water and
Sun (Gilmore, 1963:457; Rowe, 1946:310). Such sacrifices were seem-
ingly widespread so that Spanish priests made unsuccessful attempts
to eradicate the animal (Antúnez de Mayolo, 1988:42).
From this brief overview there can be little doubt that guinea pigs
played a prominent role in Inka ritual sacrifices. Recently, an archaeo-
logical excavation was carried out at Tambo Viejo, an Inka administra-
tive center in the Acari Valley of the south coast of Peru (Menzel,

Int J Osteoarchaeol. 2019;1–7. wileyonlinelibrary.com/journal/oa © 2019 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. 1
2 VALDEZ
Riddell, & Valdez, 2012). The excavation resulted in the single largest
archaeological finding of ritually sacrificed guinea pigs during Inka
time. Here my aim is to report and contextualize the finding.
2 | ARCHAEOLOGICAL EXCAVATION AT
T A M BO V I E J O
Tambo Viejo is the biggest archaeological site in the Acari Valley of the
Peruvian south coast and was initially established around 50 CE (Rowe,
1963; Valdez, 2014, 2018a). Following the Inka expansion and the
eventual incorporation of the south coast region under Inka control, a
FIGURE 1 Location of Tambo Viejo in the Peruvian south coast
[Colour figure can be viewed at wileyonlinelibrary.com]
FIGURE 2 Map of Structure 2; + indicates the location of the guinea pig offerings
series of Inka administrative centers were built in each of the valleys
of the region (Menzel, 1976:13). Tambo Viejo was the Inka center
established in the Acari Valley (Figure 1), at the SE section of an aban-
doned Early Intermediate Period (approximately 1–550 CE) occupation,
adjacent to the widest and agriculturally fertile section of the valley and
about 25 km from the Pacific Ocean (Menzel, 1959:129; Menzel et al.,
2012:405; Bettcher & Valdez, 2018; Valdez, 2018b, 2018c).
Tambo Viejo was first investigated by Menzel and Riddell in 1954
(Menzel, 1959; Menzel & Riddell, 1986) as part of the Inka Royal High-
way expedition organized by Von Hagen (1955). The field research
carried out by Menzel and Riddell consisted in mapping the site, mak-
ing a surface collection of ceramic sherds, and the excavation of two
test trenches, one 1 by 2 m and the other 2 by 2 m. The 1954 study
allowed the identification of Tambo Viejo as an Inka administrative
center. Besides some rescue work carried out in response to recent
construction activities that demolished a good segment of the archae-
ological site (Kent & Kowta, 1994; Valdez, 1996), no further research
was conducted there.
Recently, two buildings found adjacent to a centrally located Plaza
2 were excavated. The first building, identified as Structure 1
(Figure 2), is a large rectangular building found immediately south of
Plaza 2. The second building, identified as Structure 2, is also a rectan-
gular building found immediately north of Plaza 2, but smaller than
Structure 1. The walls of both buildings were built of two alignments
of cobble stones, set in mud mortar and plastered to create a uniform
surface. The stone base of the walls had been topped with large rect-
angular adobes (on average 58 × 36 × 15 cm), which had collapsed
over time. Other structures also adjacent to Plaza 2 where walls still
stand high exhibit the presence of rectangular adobes topping the
cobble stone walls (see Menzel et al., 2012:415). As pointed out by
Menzel and Riddell (1986:14) in their 1954 field report, the rectangu-
lar adobes from Tambo Viejo “are the same type as those used on
other coastal Inca administrative centers, such as Paredones near
Nazca, Ingenio, Incaic Tajaraca at Ica, Tambo Colorado at Pisco, and
Pachacamac.” This indicates that Inka adobes throughout the south
coast were standardized.
VALDEZ
Although Tambo Viejo was occupied only for a few decades,
there was a substantial modification in the configuration of the
buildings. This research demonstrates that the final layout of the site
was achieved only after several changes were made. For example,
Structure 1, which had been initially erected as a single large and
spacious building, was modified over time. At its last stage, the
building was divided in three parts, identified as Structure 1E
(eastern section), Structure 1C (central section), and Structure 1W
(western section). Structure 2 was also divided in two parts, identi-
fied as Structure 2N (northern section) and Structure 2S (southern
section).
The establishment and subsequent construction activities that
took place at Tambo Viejo were carried out accompanied by ritual
activities that included the sacrifice of guinea pigs. The findings of
guinea pig offerings right above the sterile formation as well as under
the last floor indicate that throughout the time of Inka occupation of
Tambo Viejo, these small rodents were frequently sacrificed. In the
following section I discuss those findings.
FIGURE 3 Adorned guinea pig from Structure 1W U9 of Tambo
Viejo [Colour figure can be viewed at wileyonlinelibrary.com]
FIGURE 4 Adornments of a black guinea pig
from Structure 1W U14‐19 of Tambo Viejo
[Colour figure can be viewed at
wileyonlinelibrary.com]
3
3 | T H E S A C R I F I C I A L G U I N E A P I G S (C A V I A
PORCELLUS)
The excavation conducted in Structure 1 revealed that about the time
the walls of this structure were built, guinea pig offerings were placed
at different locations. In preparation for the rituals, several of the
guinea pigs were carefully adorned with a set of long colorful (orange,
red, purple, and brown) strings that were attached to their ears
(Figures 3 and 4). In addition, necklaces of colorful strings were placed
around their necks. In several instances, the adorned as well as the
nonadorned guinea pigs were deposited right over the sterile forma-
tion, as a single offering, in pairs, or even as a group. This was the case,
for instance, of the guinea pig offerings found in units U 2, U 7, U 14,
U 19, U 26, and U 31 (see Figure 2), all placed over the sterile forma-
tion. A charcoal sample recovered from right over the sterile formation
of U 19 produced a date of 410 ± 15 BP. On occasion, small branches
of a bush locally known as chilco were placed next to the sacrificed
animal. This was the specific case of the guinea pigs found in U 31.
Next to the guinea pigs from this unit there was also a small charcoal
accumulation, indicating that the ritual included producing fire. A char-
coal sample from this unit, also coming from right over the sterile for-
mation, produced a date of 415 ± 15 BP. These are the first absolute
dates for the Inka period contexts of Tambo Viejo and overall suggest
a very late date for the site; on the basis of the accounts of early Span-
iards, it is generally assumed that the south coast (including Acari) was
incorporated relatively early under Inka control. If that was indeed the
case, Tambo Viejo appears to have been established relatively late and
not shortly after the Acari Valley was brought under Inka control.
Although some of the guinea pigs were deposited directly over the
sterile formation (Figure 5), others received a different treatment as
they were carefully enveloped in a small piece of rug made of cotton
fiber (Figure 6). Some of the guinea pigs treated in this manner were
also adorned, but others had no adornment at all. Then, clean sand
brought from the river was used to bury the sacrificial animals. In sev-
eral instances, around the mouth and nose of the animals there was an
4 VALDEZ
FIGURE 5 Guinea pig without adornment from Structure 1E U91 of
Tambo Viejo [Colour figure can be viewed at wileyonlinelibrary.com]
FIGURE 6 Guinea pig covered in a rug found in Structure 1W U31
of Tambo Viejo [Colour figure can be viewed at wileyonlinelibrary.
com]
accumulation of hardened sand stuck to the animal; such accumulation
leaves open the possibility that the guinea pigs perhaps were still alive
and breathing when buried. Once the animals were buried with sand, a
clay floor representing the first Inka occupation was built over them,
thus sealing the offering animals.
About the same time the first guinea pig offerings were deposited,
food was prepared at a center location of Structure 1W. A cobble
stone walled circular earth oven, resembling a contemporary
pachamanca (Valdez, 1994:678), was built right over the sterile forma-
tion. At the base of the oven there was an accumulation of charcoal,
and around the cobble stones that formed the top part of the oven
an accumulation of achira leaves (Canna edulis) was found. Ethno-
graphically, it is known that achira leaves are placed directly over the
heated oven, over which food is placed. Then, a second layer of achira
leaves is placed to cover the food. Finally, the entire oven is buried
with dirt for about 2 hr to cook the deposited food.
When the time to modify the existing building came, a new set of
guinea pig offerings was buried again following the same procedures
just noted. Some of the guinea pigs were adorned with colorful strings
and some also enveloped in a small rug, to be finally buried with sand.
In this case too, hardened sand was found attached in the mouth and
nose of the animals. Over the second set of guinea pig offerings a sec-
ond clay floor was built, sealing again the deposited offerings.
At the time the second (and last) floor of structure 1 was built, sev-
eral large‐sized vessels were buried along the main walls of the build-
ing. The vessels were placed vertically, with their bases buried in the
sterile formation and their openings at the floor level. The opening
of some of these vessels was covered with a piece of cloth and a cob-
ble stone, indicating that the vessels were meant to be reopened. Near
the opening of some of the vessels there also were guinea pig offer-
ings deposited about the same time the vessels were placed. For
example, next to the opening of the vessel excavated in U 38 there
were two guinea pig offerings.
Likewise, three cists of different sizes were built about the same
time the last floor of the building was established. One of the cists
was established at the central western side of Structure 1E. The cob-
ble stone walled cist had a circular shape at floor level and was 1.25‐m
deep. In a similar manner to the ceramic vessels, the opening of the
cists was at the floor level and indicates that the cists are contempo-
raneous with the last floor. The relevant aspect for the purposes of
this discussion is that near the opening of the cist there were two
guinea pig offerings, placed right under the floor. About a meter south
from the cist there was a large ceramic vessel; next to the vessel there
also were two guinea pig offerings buried under the floor.
Most of the guinea pig offerings were found inside Structure 1W.
With a few exceptions, excavation in Structure 1C did not advance
beyond the last floor, and Structure 1E was found largely eroded
and thus most of its original depositions lost. The excavation carried
out in Structure 1 resulted in the finding of 72 guinea pigs, of which
66 were young (shaft and epiphysis unfused), and only 6 were fully
grown adults (shaft and epiphysis fully fused). These numbers strongly
signal that there was a high preference for the sacrifice of younger
animals over older ones. Guinea pigs of various colors are present,
including full black guinea pigs.
Several of the guinea pigs from Tambo Viejo were found in an
excellent state of preservation. The sand deposited over the sacrificed
animals and the extreme aridity of the region produced exceptionally
well‐preserved specimens. Examination of the naturally mummified
guinea pigs determined that none of them had been cut open, nor
there is any visible evidence of trauma to the heads or the neck.
Therefore, the possibility that these animals were used by healers, as
those from Chincha (Sandweiss & Wing, 1997), can be discarded. Like-
wise, there is no unmistakable evidence that would suggest that the
guinea pigs had already being killed before burial. Of course, the small
rodents could have been asphyxiated, thus leaving no visible trauma.
The excavation carried out in Structure 2, located to the north of
Plaza 2, also resulted in the finding of 28 guinea pigs, 27 of them were
young. One of the guinea pigs from Structure 2S had also been
adorned and enveloped in a rug made of cotton fiber. Most of the
guinea pigs were buried as single offerings, but at least in two
instances it was observed that groups of four and seven guinea pigs
were buried together. All the guinea pigs from Structure 2 were buried
VALDEZ
in a similar manner to those found in Structure 1; first covered with
sand and finally sealed with a clay floor.
An additional notable finding made in Structure 2S was a small
enclosure built next to a centrally located wall. The enclosure had a
single alignment cobble stone wall set in clay mortar and a small exit
on the southern wall. Inside the enclosure there was an accumulation
of sand and dry pods of lima beans (Phaseolus lunatus), in addition to
some land snails and various types of seeds, including coca
(Erythroxylaceae) seeds. More importantly, perhaps, was the finding
inside the enclosure of an accumulation of guinea pig feces. Such evi-
dence, plus the small size (1.6 m × 1.4 m) of the enclosure, indicate
that this was built to house the guinea pigs (Figure 7) or to hold tem-
porarily guinea pigs brought from elsewhere for sacrifice, as one
reviewer suggested. Further analysis using isotopes and other chemi-
cal traces can help determining the origin of the animals.
4 | D I S C U S S I O N A N D CO N C L U SI O N
As pointed out at the onset, the accounts of early Spaniards mention
that guinea pigs were one of the frequently sacrificed domestic ani-
mals during Inka times (de Arriaga, 1968:210; de Acosta, 1962:206–
7; Polo de Ondegardo, 1988:226; Cobo, 1990:113). However, archae-
ological evidence for this type of ritual has been sparse. A rare excep-
tion is the findings made by Sandweiss (1992) at an Inka period
settlement in Chincha. Although preservation can be a reason for
the low visibility of the fragile remains of the guinea pigs in archaeo-
logical contexts, it is rather surprising that similar evidence to the
one just found at Tambo Viejo does not exist even for other Inka cen-
ters from the same south coast, a region well known for its dry condi-
tions. Therefore, the recent findings from Tambo Viejo represent the
single largest finding of sacrificial guinea pigs coming from Inka times.
It is equally vital to point out that the guinea pigs from Tambo Viejo
are significantly different from the guinea pigs from Chincha. The most
notable difference is that a good number of the guinea pigs from
Tambo Viejo received a special treatment in preparation for sacrifice.
The treatment consisted in the adornments placed in the ears and
FIGURE 7 Guinea pig enclosure found in Structure 2S [Colour figure
can be viewed at wileyonlinelibrary.com]
5
necks of some of the animals. Whether those adorned were of a par-
ticular sex could not be determined, but it had nothing to do with age
or color. Moreover, a good number of the guinea pigs were carefully
enveloped in a rug, but not all treated in that manner were necessarily
adorned; therefore, the criteria used to determine which guinea pig
had to be adorned and which to be enveloped prior to burial remain
undetermined. What has become evident from the finding of Tambo
Viejo is that never before has similar evidence been found anywhere
in the former Inka territory, making the sacrificial guinea pigs from
Tambo Viejo unprecedented. The only findings that somehow resem-
ble those from Tambo Viejo come from a pre‐Inka site in the
Moquegua Valley, south from Acari, where the guinea pigs had also
been buried under the floor. However, the guinea pigs from
Moquegua were decapitated or killed before burial and were never
adorned (Rofes, 2000).
As discussed by Andrews (1975), Bolton (1979), and Gilmore
(1963), among others, guinea pigs constitute an important element
of Andean society. Although due to poor preservation the fragile
remains of these animals are not always archaeologically well repre-
sented, there can be little doubt that guinea pigs were an important
source of protein (Lanning, 1967:17–18) and one of the preferred sac-
rificial animals (Gilmore, 1963). In the Peruvian south coast, the earli-
est evidence of guinea pig sacrifice comes from the early Nasca
ceremonial center of Cahuachi (Silverman, 1988), north of the Acari
Valley. A total of 23 young sacrificial guinea pigs were found in one
of the Unit 16 excavations. According to Silverman (1988:421), the
guinea pigs “had had their heads jerked out of articulation … and that
their undersides had been slit open from the neck down.”
The early accounts left by the Spaniards, such as de Acosta,
1962:206–7), mentioned that guinea pigs were used frequently for
sacrifices, but rarely indicate how exactly the sacrifice was carried
out. One exception is by Polo de Ondegardo (1988):198), who stated
that guinea pig sacrifice implied cutting open the animal. The only
known case of a guinea pig sacrificed by slitting the stomach longitu-
dinally comes from the Inka period site in Chincha (Sandweiss & Wing,
1997:52) and thus matches the description of Polo de Ondegardo.
According to Sandweiss (1992:119), the slitting is indicative of the
use of the guinea pig in curing (see also Silverman, 1988). Ethnograph-
ically, it is known that healers rub the live guinea pig on the body of
the patient, then slit the animal to diagnose the individual (Bolton &
Calvin, 1981:315). An assessment of the well‐preserved and naturally
mummified guinea pigs from Tambo Viejo demonstrates that none was
sacrificed in the way mentioned by Polo de Ondegardo.
The noted discrepancy may be because the findings from Tambo
Viejo represent state sponsored rituals that with the arrival of the
Spaniards were no longer carried out. An additional possibility may
be that the descriptions provided by early Spaniards and the finding
from Chincha may be related to curing, and the findings from Tambo
Viejo constitute dedicatory offerings made for the construction of
the buildings. Although similar evidence to that from Tambo Viejo is
unknown, there is also the possibility that placing animal offerings
before the establishment of buildings perhaps was a local custom of
the peoples of Acari, a custom that the Inka allowed to be carried
6 VALDEZ
out. Indeed, considering that until recently it was unknown that sacri-
ficial guinea pigs were decorated, there is a strong possibility that the
finding from Tambo Viejo perhaps mirrors a local custom. Future
research may help to clarify some of the possibilities mentioned here.
The evidence coming from Tambo Viejo demonstrates that guinea
pigs were indeed sacrificed in large numbers and thus were the pre-
ferred sacrificial animals, as previously mentioned in the early
accounts provided by Spaniards. However, it is vital to emphasize that
the sacrifice did not consist simply in killing the animals; instead, there
was a whole procedure that involved, first, the selection of young
guinea pigs, and second the adornment of a good number of them
with colorful strings. In the absence of visible signs of trauma, there
is also the possibility that the sacrifice animals perhaps were buried
alive or that the animals were killed by asphyxiation. This is an aspect
that future research may clarify. The well‐preserved guinea pig offer-
ings from Tambo Viejo represent the first ever finding coming from
an Inka site and support the early accounts provided by Spaniards with
regards to the use of these animals for the purposes of sacrifice.
NOTE
1
Overall, the occurrence of guinea pigs in archaeological contexts is rare
(Valdez & Valdez, 1997).
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Archaeological research at Tambo Viejo was carried out with funds
provided to the author by the Social Sciences and Humanities
Research Council of Canada and with the authorization from the
Peruvian Ministerio de Cultura (Resolución Directorial No. 086‐
2018/DGPA/VMPCIC/MC). This research was also possible thanks
to the efficient participation of the field and laboratory team
conformed by Marcelino N. Huamaní, Katrina J. Bettcher, Miguel A.
Liza, Wilfred Alarcón, Katherinne Aylas, Cruver Jayo, Yanina Laura,
Luis A. Cahuana, Charmelí Manrique, Abel Fernández, Lucie Dausse,
Nada K. Valdez, Karen Guzmán, Bryan Guzmán, Víctor Quintanilla,
Martín Roque, Eber Meléndez, Modesto Canales, and Percy Rojas.
Two anonymous reviewers provided valuable comments and sugges-
tions to improve the manuscript. Robin Bendry, from the editorial
office of International Journal of Osteoarchaeology, equally provided
valuable assistance. My wife, Katrina J. Bettcher, provided the editing
of the original manuscript. Any shortcomings are only mine.
ORCID
Lidio M. Valdez https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1931-2728
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How to cite this article: Valdez LM. Inka sacrificial guinea pigs
from Tambo Viejo, Peru. Int J Osteoarchaeol. 2019;1–7.
https://doi.org/10.1002/oa.2755