title: Funerary artifacts, social status, and atherosclerosis in ancient peruvian mummy bundles.
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.
authors: Newport Diagnostic Center, Newport Beach, CA, USA. Electronic address: mlsutherland@me.com.
authors: M Linda
authors: ML
authors: Sutherland
authors: Department of Archeology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, United Kingdom; Penn Museum, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA.
authors: Samantha L
authors: SL
authors: Cox
authors: Universidad Peruana Cayetano Heredia, Lima, Peru.
authors: Guido P
authors: GP
authors: Lombardi
authors: Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Mexico City, Mexico.
authors: Lucia
authors: L
authors: Watson
authors: Museo de Sitio Puruchuco-Arturo Jimenez Borja, Lima, Peru.
authors: Clide M
authors: CM
authors: Valladolid
authors: Davis School of Gerontology, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, USA.
authors: Caleb E
authors: CE
authors: Finch
authors: Institute for Mummies and the Iceman, European Academy of Bolzano/Bozen (EURAC), Bolzano/Bozen, Italy.
authors: Albert
authors: A
authors: Zink
authors: National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC, USA.
authors: Bruno
authors: B
authors: Frohlich
authors: Department of Anthropology, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM, USA.
authors: Hillard S
authors: HS
authors: Kaplan
authors: Miller Children's Hospital of Long Beach, Long Beach, CA, USA.
authors: David E
authors: DE
authors: Michalik
authors: Mission Heritage Medical Group, St. Joseph Heritage Health, Mission Viejo, CA, USA.
authors: Michael I
authors: MI
authors: Miyamoto
authors: Al-Azhar University, Cairo, Egypt.
authors: Adel H
authors: AH
authors: Allam
authors: Saint Luke's Mid America Heart Institute, University of Missouri-Kansas City, Kansas City, MO, USA.
authors: Randall C
authors: RC
authors: Thompson
authors: Cardiovascular Physicians, Columbia St. Mary's Healthcare, Milwaukee, WI, USA.
authors: L Samuel
authors: LS
authors: Wann
authors: Department of Global Affairs, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY, USA.
authors: Jagat
authors: J
authors: Narula
authors: MemorialCare Heart & Vascular Institute, Long Beach Memorial, Long Beach, CA, USA; University of California, Irvine, Irvine, CA, USA.
authors: Gregory S
authors: GS
authors: Thomas
authors: Saddleback Memorial Medical Center, Laguna Hills, CA, USA.
authors: James D
authors: JD
authors: Sutherland
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001106:Archaeology; D050197:Atherosclerosis; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D005260:Female; D005655:Funeral Rites; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009106:Mummies; D010568:Peru; D012923:Social Class; D055815:Young Adult