M Linda Sutherland1, Samantha L Cox2, Guido P Lombardi3, Lucia Watson4, Clide M Valladolid5, Caleb E Finch6, Albert Zink7, Bruno Frohlich8, Hillard S Kaplan9, David E Michalik10, Michael I Miyamoto11, Adel H Allam12, Randall C Thompson13, L Samuel Wann14, Jagat Narula15, Gregory S Thomas16, James D Sutherland17. 1. Newport Diagnostic Center, Newport Beach, CA, USA. Electronic address: mlsutherland@me.com. 2. Department of Archeology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, United Kingdom; Penn Museum, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA. 3. Universidad Peruana Cayetano Heredia, Lima, Peru. 4. Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Mexico City, Mexico. 5. Museo de Sitio Puruchuco-Arturo Jimenez Borja, Lima, Peru. 6. Davis School of Gerontology, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, USA. 7. Institute for Mummies and the Iceman, European Academy of Bolzano/Bozen (EURAC), Bolzano/Bozen, Italy. 8. National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC, USA. 9. Department of Anthropology, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM, USA. 10. Miller Children's Hospital of Long Beach, Long Beach, CA, USA. 11. Mission Heritage Medical Group, St. Joseph Heritage Health, Mission Viejo, CA, USA. 12. Al-Azhar University, Cairo, Egypt. 13. Saint Luke's Mid America Heart Institute, University of Missouri-Kansas City, Kansas City, MO, USA. 14. Cardiovascular Physicians, Columbia St. Mary's Healthcare, Milwaukee, WI, USA. 15. Department of Global Affairs, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY, USA. 16. MemorialCare Heart & Vascular Institute, Long Beach Memorial, Long Beach, CA, USA; University of California, Irvine, Irvine, CA, USA. 17. Saddleback Memorial Medical Center, Laguna Hills, CA, USA.
Abstract
BACKGROUND: Evidence of atherosclerotic plaques in ancient populations has led to the reconsideration of risk factors for heart disease and of the common belief that it is a disease of modern times. METHODS: Fifty-one wrapped mummy bundles excavated from the sites of Huallamarca, Pedreros, and Rinconada La Molina from the Puruchuco Museum collection in Lima, Peru, were scanned using computed tomography to investigate the presence of atherosclerosis. Funerary artifacts contained within the undisturbed mummy bundles were analyzed as an attempt to infer the social status of the individuals to correlate social status with evidence of heart disease in this ancient Peruvian group. This work also provides an inventory of the museum mummy collection to guide and facilitate future research. RESULTS: Statistical analysis concluded that there is little association between the types of grave goods contained within the bundles when the groups are pooled together. However, some patterns of artifact type, material, atherosclerosis, and sex emerge when the 3 excavation sites are analyzed separately. CONCLUSIONS: From the current sample, it would seem that social class is difficult to discern, but those from Huallamarca have the most markers of elite status. We had hypothesized that higher-status individuals may have had lifestyles that would place them at a higher risk for atherogenesis. There seems to be some indication of this within the site of Huallamarca, but it is inconclusive in the other 2 archeological sites. It is possible that a larger sample size in the future could reveal more statistically significant results.
BACKGROUND: Evidence of atherosclerotic plaques in ancient populations has led to the reconsideration of risk factors for heart disease and of the common belief that it is a disease of modern times. METHODS: Fifty-one wrapped mummy bundles excavated from the sites of Huallamarca, Pedreros, and Rinconada La Molina from the Puruchuco Museum collection in Lima, Peru, were scanned using computed tomography to investigate the presence of atherosclerosis. Funerary artifacts contained within the undisturbed mummy bundles were analyzed as an attempt to infer the social status of the individuals to correlate social status with evidence of heart disease in this ancient Peruvian group. This work also provides an inventory of the museum mummy collection to guide and facilitate future research. RESULTS: Statistical analysis concluded that there is little association between the types of grave goods contained within the bundles when the groups are pooled together. However, some patterns of artifact type, material, atherosclerosis, and sex emerge when the 3 excavation sites are analyzed separately. CONCLUSIONS: From the current sample, it would seem that social class is difficult to discern, but those from Huallamarca have the most markers of elite status. We had hypothesized that higher-status individuals may have had lifestyles that would place them at a higher risk for atherogenesis. There seems to be some indication of this within the site of Huallamarca, but it is inconclusive in the other 2 archeological sites. It is possible that a larger sample size in the future could reveal more statistically significant results.