Applying CΤ-scanning for the Identification of a Skull of an Unknown Archaeological Find in Peru

Abstract

The 2016 finds of Palpa, Ica, Peru, assumed to be archaeological in nature, recently received due attention by the scientific community. To help clarify the issue, the current study aims to scientifically examine, through CT-scan analysis, the skull of one of the small bodies, and compare it to the braincase of llamas and alpacas, which are common animals of Ica, Peru. To this end the skull was divided into many sections and a detailed analysis was performed for each one of them. It was shown that the head of the small body is largely made of a deteriorated llama braincase and other unidentified bones, and greatly resembles the human cranium. Specifically, the remains of the skull were shown to be of biological nature, consisting of very thin greatly deteriorated bone with parts such as the mouth plate that could not be identified and recognized. Hence, the obtained results offer a new perception of the lama deteriorated braincase physiology and its resemblance to a human-like face. An additional examination of the neck of the body was also conducted, showing that there are three cords in the neck that may either be actual veins or vegetable strings or intestines for fixing purposes. Based on the above, it seems that the finds are constructions of very high quality. This makes one wonder how these have been produced hundreds of years ago (based on the C14 test). It must be said that the current study is limited by the low CT-scan resolution and the lack of more comparisons with other small bodies craniums. Consequently, more tests with C14, DNA, CT-scans at higher resolutions, and even an autopsy are needed for extracting rigid conclusions. Such work has been undertaken by the San Luis Gonzaga National University of Ica, where the finds remain.