Incas Used Coca in Animal Sacrifice

Excavations at the Incan site Tambo Viejo (2024) uncovered nine llamas and 200+ guinea pigs prepared for sacrifice with coca leaves placed among them, giving direct physical evidence that coca was part of ritual offerings rather than only burned as colonial records claim. The discovery contradicts early Spanish descriptions and shows how archaeological context can revise assumptions about plant use and meaning. — This changes how we interpret coca culturally and historically and feeds into current debates about whether international drug policy properly treats the coca plant as a culturally significant, low‑risk substance.