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Trophy heads reveal the Inca Empire’s reign of terror

Skulls found in an ancient settlement in the Andes Mountains were altered for display.
Reconstructed skull with perforations from Iglesia Colorada

Rope might have been strung through the holes drilled in this skull, which was found in a centuries-old rubbish dump in modern Chile. Credit: F. Garrido & C. Morales

The decapitated heads of young women from a prehistoric Andean village were put on display before they were discarded in a rubbish dump — possibly in an effort to terrorize people living under Incan rule.

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Nature 572, 566-567 (2019)

doi: https://doi.org/10.1038/d41586-019-02463-1

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