Multiple outlets report that toxicological testing of Inca child remains indicates they were given psychoactive substances shortly before being sacrificed at mountain shrines. The finding comes from analyses of mummified children whose bodies were discovered across areas of the Inca Empire.
New Scientist, Phys.org, and other coverage describe hair and nail testing and broader toxicology aimed at identifying drugs consumed in connection with the most important sacrificial ritual. The substances reported in the summaries include cocaine and alcohol.
The coverage differs mainly in emphasis and wording. Mail Online (and the Daily Mail) foreground graphic phrasing about “the drugs of death,” while Phys.org and New Scientist frame the work more as archaeological and scientific evidence based on analysis of the mummified remains.
