Earliest victim of New World genocide found in Peru

Wednesday, June 20, 2007  

Archaeologists in Peru say they have found the earliest gunshot victim in the New World.

A 500-year-old skull found in an Inca cemetery bore two round holes that were characteristic of a gunshot wound. An electron microscope scan confirmed the presence of lead in the victim.

The remains date to the 1530s, just a few years after European explorer Francisco Pizarro came to Peru and sough to subject the Inca and other tribes. Up to 80 percent of the 12 million people in the Inca empire died within 70 years, according to The Washington Post.

The cemetery contained 72 people who were placed in what appears to be a mass grave following a massacre or battle in 1536. Other victims, including women and children, showed signs of extreme trauma, archaeologists said.

Get the Story:
Inca Skull Rewrites History of Conquest (The Washington Post 6/20)
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Earliest Gunshot Victim in New World Is Reported (The New York Times 6/20)
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Inca warrior's wound tells another tale (The Los Angeles Times 6/20)
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First Known Gunshot Victim in Americas Discovered (National Geographic News 6/19)