Female figurine 1400–1533 Inca This female figurine resembles other Inca metal figurines, often associated with the ritual performance of capac hucha, in terms of its appearance and design. Made of hammered sheet, of the approximate composition of 52% silver and 44% gold, by XRF, the figurine shows a woman standing with arms and hands close to the chest. Her hair is pulled back, extending to the lower back, into two tresses that have been tied at this end. Capac hucha has been defined in varied ways by 16th century Spanish chroniclers (Cieza de León 1959, 190-193; Diez de Betanzos 1996, 46, 13

Female figurine 1400–1533 Inca This female figurine resembles other Inca metal figurines, often associated with the ritual performance of capac hucha, in terms of its appearance and design. Made of hammered sheet, of the approximate composition of 52% silver and 44% gold, by XRF, the figurine shows a woman standing with arms and hands close to the chest. Her hair is pulled back, extending to the lower back, into two tresses that have been tied at this end. Capac hucha has been defined in varied ways by 16th century Spanish chroniclers (Cieza de León 1959, 190-193; Diez de Betanzos 1996, 46, 132), but they note that it typically involves offerings in Cusco or in provincial regions made in honor of the Sun or in reverence of the Sapa Inca, the paramount Inca ruler. In some cases, it may involve gathering children from provinces, bringing them to Cusco, and then sending them to distant locations along with a range of other objects, including metal figurines, to be sacrificed and buried (see Diez de Betanzos 1996, 132). As with other instances of capac hucha assemblages that have been identified archaeologically (Gibaja et al. 2014; King 2016; Onuki and Rosas 2000), this figurine likely would have been dressed, wrapped in textiles fastened with pins (tupus) when it was deposited and accompanied by Inca ceramic and/or wooden vessels as well as other figurines made of metal or Spondylus spp. and the remains of the children sacrificed. However, Inca figurines have been deposited in contexts from which human remains have not been recovered, in a form of ritual practice separate from capac hucha (cf. Farrington and Raffino 1996, 73 on figurines from the main plaza or Haukaypata at Cusco, and Rojas et al. 2012 on a figurine from an Inca offering at the Moche site of Huaca de la Luna).The figurine is comprised of at least five sheet components that have been joined together to form a hollow figure (see image 4): the hair; the head and body; a gusset in the genital region (s

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