In the Chincha Valley of southern Peru, pigmented human remains and grave goods were found in over 100 large and accessible mortuary structures associated with the Late Intermediate Period (1000 – 1400 CE), the Late Horizon (1400 – 1532 CE), and the Colonial Period (1532 – 1825 CE). We characterize 38 red pigment samples, reveal their potential sources and how they were processed and applied to human remains, and determine the demographic profiles of pigmented individuals. Results suggest that cinnabar- (HgS) and hematite (Fe₂O₃)-based pigments, likely from local and nonlocal sources, were mixed in water and applied to skeletonized and disarticulated individuals of different age and sex categories. We interpret red pigment application to human remains as part of a prolonged process of social dying that transitioned the ontological status of the dead and contributed to the development of social difference and group identity. Multidisciplinary research designs are ideal for studying red pigment practices, which are activities concerning the production and use of red pigment that range from procurement to the treatment of the dead. Here, we advance a methodology integrating archaeometric, archaeological, and bioarchaeological analyses with anthropological theories of personhood and social dying to investigate red pigment practices.

在秘鲁南部的钦查河谷， 在 100 多个与中晚期（公元 1000 年至 1400 年）、地平线后期（公元 1400 年至 1532 年）和殖民地时期相关的大型且易于使用的太平间结构中发现了有颜色的人类遗骸和陪葬品时期（公元 1532 – 1825 年）。我们对 38 个红色素样本进行了表征，揭示了它们的潜在来源以及它们是如何加工和应用于人类遗骸的，并确定了色素沉着个体的人口统计资料。结果表明，可能来自本地和非本地来源的基于朱砂 (HgS) 和赤铁矿 (Fe ₂ O ₃ ) 的颜料混合在水中，并应用于不同年龄和性别类别的骨骼化和脱臼个体。我们将红色颜料应用于人类遗骸解释为一部分 一个长期的社会死亡过程转变了死者的本体论地位，并促进了社会差异和群体认同的发展。 多学科研究设计是研究红色颜料实践的理想选择，这些实践涉及红色颜料的生产和使用，范围从采购到死者的处理。在这里，我们提出了一种将考古学、考古学和生物考古学分析与人格和社会死亡的人类学理论相结合的方法，以研究红色素的做法。