Ancient Peruvian Queen Mummy and her Sacrifice Victims to Undergo DNA Analysis

A research delegation from Harvard University is making a visit this week to Peru to take DNA samples from the mummified remains of the famous Señora de Cao (‘Lady of Cao’), a powerful queen of the ancient Moche civilization. Her DNA will be compared to that of the other people buried with her—apparent sacrifice victims. The researchers aim to determine if the other people buried with the Lady of Cao were related to her, and if so, how.

Jeffrey Quilter, head of the Peabody Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology at Harvard, will lead the research. He said the results of the DNA analysis of the queen and the funeral cortege buried with her, five people in all, will be released by late 2016 or early 2017, according to Peru This Week.

A replica of the Lady of Cao based on the items she was buried with (public domain)

One of the people buried with the Lady of Cao was a child. The grave goods buried with her suggest that she was a ruler of her people. In the tomb were robes, nose rings, ceremonial batons and headdresses and other signs of wealth and status.