Hair From One Of The Oldest Atacama Mummies Shows Low-Stress Life In Ancient South America

MessageToEagle.com – Contrary to what has previously been assumed, ancient Atacama people experienced less stress than we expected. Hair taken from one of the oldest Atacama mummies shows low-stress life in South America was by no means uncommon.

It has already been established that just like other pre-Hispanic natives, those who inhabited the desert in northern Chile faced periods of food shortages, severe weather conditions, crippling diseases and violence.

Scientists have now conducted an analysis of a stress hormone in hair samples from 19 mummies of people who lived between 500 and 1,500 years ago. Five of the mummies were from the Middle Period (400 to 1000 AD) and the rest from the Late Intermediate Period (1000 to 1400 AD),

The results clearly shows that despite the harsh living conditions, not all of the people had as stressful an existence as previously thought.

This interpretation “is different from what had been assumed so far,” says Hermann Niemeyer, head of the Laboratory of Organic Chemistry at the Faculty of Sciences of the University of Chile.

See also:

Mysterious Ruins Of Nuevo Albergis In The Atacama Desert

Intriguing Graves Of Ancient Unknown People In The Atacama Desert

The Mysterious ‘Atacama Humanoid’ – One Of The World’s Most Baffling Skeletons

Hair grows on average one centimeter per month.  The analysis functions as an indicator of the stress experienced during the natives’ last months of life and may be an invaluable window into the emotional life of the remote past.

Although it is impossible to rule out some degree of degradation caused by decomposition, Niemeyer says the mummies’ hair and other organic remains are extremely well preserved because of the arid San Pedro de Atacama atmosphere. “And cortisol itself is a fairly stable molecule,” he adds.

Interestingly, the finding contradicts previous studies. In 2009, a team of researchers led by Emily Webb, then at the University of Western Ontario, used similar method and found that mummies from different places in Peru presented very high stress levels.

The team attributed stress to food shortages, droughts, interpersonal conflicts and other threats to life.

However, researchers now assume that, despite all odds the ancient inhabitants of the Atacama were well adapted to the conditions of the local environment, since human occupation in the area went on for thousands of years.

MessageToEagle.com