Grave Analysis

Many of the later burials found in the Puruchuco cemetery on the outskirts of Lima, Peru—as seen in "The Great Inca Rebellion"—showed signs of having died extremely violent deaths, probably during the Siege of Lima by the Inca. Who were these ill-fated individuals? As a bioarcheologist, I have been examining the remains of many of these people. Here, learn what I was able to determine about one victim's sex, age, and other characteristics by analyzing that person's well-preserved skeleton.—Melissa Scott Murphy

Melissa Scott Murphy is a bioarcheologist at Bryn Mawr College who has worked in Peru, Israel, and France. She appears in "The Great Inca Rebellion" as one of the experts working on the Puruchuco burials.

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