Y-chromosome Peruvian origin of the 500-year-old Inca child mummy sacrificed in Cerro Aconcagua (Argentina)

Abstract

Abstract We present results of a Y-chromosome analysis of a frozen mummy found at a high altitude in Cerro Aconcagua (Argentina) in 1985. The mummy was identified as a seven-year-old Inca sacrifice victim living at the time of the Inca Civilization (∼500 years ago). The Y-SNPs indicate that the haplotype belongs to the most common Native American branch in the highlands and lowlands of South America (Q-M3) pointing to the continuity of the native settlement in the Andes. No matches were found in the Y-chromosome STR Haplotype Reference Database (YHRD; n =39414 haplotypes) when searching for the Y-STR haplotype. After collapsing this profile into its minimum haplotype (MHT), three 1-step mutational neighbors were detected in the YHRD ( n =197102 haplotypes); one was found in Peru (Q1a2-M3) and two in the US-admixed population. Subsequently, haplotypes from South Americans were compiled and masked for their genuine Native American component. A probabilistic model indicates that the mummy’s profile most likely originated in the Quechuan Andean Peru (with the closest affinities to the Choppca). The results are in good agreement with anthropological and archaeological evidence suggesting that the Inca child could have been carried out from Peru to the Aconcagua (> 2,600 km far) for sacrifice.