The Scientific Authentification of Francisco Pizarro

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The Scientific Authentification
of Francisco Pizarro
Abstract
On 17 June 1977 the remains of the supposed Francisco Pizarro and family
members, as well as artifacts, were unearthed near the center of the Cathedral of
Lima, Peru. This began nearly a decade of research on the remains whose results
are reported in this paper. On 10 January 1985, the remains of Francisco Pizarro
were placed in state in the Cathedral having been formally authentificated.
A series of 3 AMS radiocarbon dates performed by the NSF-Arizona
Accelerator Facility (670 ± 70 years BP and 430 ± 60 BP results in an age
range of 1400-1630 cal AD) .
The final results of different types of analyses of the remains are not
inconsistent with the technology, resources, chronology and historical record of
the culture, assassination and death of Francisco Pizarro.
1. Introduction
The remains of Francisco Pizarro, conqueror and governor of Peru were
lost after the Great Tsunami and Earthquake of Lima and Callao on 28
October 1746 which destroyed the Cathedral of Lima and exact location of
his burial.
In June of 1977 some workmen opened a plastered over niche in the
crypt beneath the altar (Ludena, 1980, p. 20) and found the burial location of
Francisco Pizarro and members of his family as well as several artifacts.
These included a lead box with an inscription, « AQUI ESTA LA CABECA
DEL SENOR MARQUES DON FRANCISCO PIZARRO QUE DESCUBRIO Y GANO LOS REYNOS DEL PIRV Y PUSO EN LA REAL
CORONA DE CASTILLA » (translated as « Here is the skull of the
Marques Don Francisco Pizarro who discovered and won Peru and placed it
under the crown of Castille ») (Ludena, 1980), a wooden box with a roughcut rectangular hole covered with brown velvet and nail outline of the Cross
of the Military Order of Santiago (Ludena, 1980), fragments of a sword,
strips of hide from stirrups, and other fragmentary items. Samples of those
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J. Ericson and H. Ludena
items were conveyed in 1978 for analysis at Harvard University and at UCLA
and form the basis for this report (Ericson, 1977).
The difficulty with the authentification of the remains of Pizarro resides
with the 1891 contender, a mummy which was placed in state in the
Cathedral of Lima in 1891 on the occasion of the 350th anniversary of
Pizarro's death. A hastily-formed commission verified that these remains
were, in fact, those of Francisco Pizarro (McGee, 1894), having misinterpreted the basic forensic and historical evidence (Maples et a/., 1989).
Both the mummy and the skeletal remains discovered in 1977 have been
thoroughly examined by different groups of forensic anthropologists. The
forensic results together with analyses presented herein form the basis for the
scientific authentification of Francisco Pizarro.
2. Forensic Analysis of the Skeletal Remains
In May 1978 Dr. Ludena brought selected skeletal remains of Pizarro to
Los Angeles for examination, including the right humerus, atlas, and several
vertebrae which had cut marks as well as the calcaneus. On 16 May a
preliminary forensic examination on these bones was conducted by a forensic
team of Dr. J.M. Suchey, Dr. D.V. Wisely, and Dr. R. Taylor of the
Department of the Chief Medical Examiner/Coroner, Los Angeles County.
Cervical vertebrae (sample no. 1.3.2.17.7) was x-rayed by Dr. Wisely
using high resolution x-ray film. The x-rays revealed opacification consistent
with a rheumatic condition of the spine.
The calcaneus had greenish stains which were examined with the
scanning electron microscope with EDAX attached. Chemical analysis of the
surface stain showed major elements of soil (A1, Si, Fe, Ca) and (Ca, P) of
bone apatite and (Zn, Cu) of the green stain. The appearance of the green
stain is consistent with the historical record which 1541 record reports that
Pizarro was buried with his spurs, most likely brass in composition.
The team reported that the subject was old, robust, rheumatic and
attacked violently with sharp implements. The subject received four blows to
the cervical vertebrae which were registered from the front to rear of the
vertebrae on the right side.
On 17 May 1978 a second team of physical anthropologists examined
the remains at UCLA Department of Anthropology including Professors
B.J. Williams, E. Bates, M. West and a student, M. Waring. There was
concurrence with the first group of examiners. Professor Sognnaes, Schools
of Medicine and Dentistry, independently examined the remains and focused
on the blow received on the distal right humerus which would have cut
radial and extender muscles for fingers during the assassination (Ericson,
1978).
The Scientific Authentification of Francisco Pizarro
351
It is important to note that the above individuals were limited in the
extent of their examination due to time and incomplete nature of the skeletal
remains. A complete and definitive forensic anthropological examination was
conducted in March and April, 1984 by Drs. Benfer and Maples in two visits.
A third visit in July 1984 by Drs. Benfer, Maples and Goza focused on the
examination of the mummy. A complete and detailed forensic examination is
presented by Maples et a/., 1989. The conclusions of their report are as
follows.
The mummy is typified as « dedicate and undamaged by marks of battle
(other than a healed fractured nose) was more like the body of an ecclesiastic
rather than a conquistador » (Maples et a/., 1987). The commingled remains
discovered in the niche of the crypt below the altar were differentiated into
individual skeletons. « The wooden box contained the remains of two
children, an elderly female, the skull and postcranial remains of an elderly
male, and the postcranial skeleton of a second elderly male. The latter
skeleton (of Pizarro) articulated with the skull in the lead box with the
inscription » (Maples et a/., 1989). Radiographs of the left hand portion of
skull showed opacification due to contact of the skull with the lead box
(Ludena, 1980) and conversion of apatite to lead salts.
The skeleton of Pizarro was typified as « a white male approximately 6569 inches (1.65 to 1. 75 m) in height. The age at death was at least 60 years »
(Maple et a/., 1989).
On 26 June 1541 Pizarro was murdered by the supporters of the dead
leader, Diego de Almagro. The details of the death of Pizarro were recorded
(Prescott) and compared with forensic details of fresh cut marks registered on
the skeleton : « The great number of wounds, the damage under the
mandible and in the skull base to dispatch an enemy, are consistent with an
association by multiple assailants armed with thin, double-edged weapons.
After a bitter fight, many or all, of the assassins plunged their weapons into
the dead, or dying man » (Maples, 1989).
On 10 January 1985 the skeleton of 1977 was placed in the great glass
and marble sarcophagus with a massive bronze lion on top shown in a plate
(Ludena, 1980). The mummy rested on plywood supported by sawhorses in
the crypt (Maples et a/., 1989). There is little doubt remaining as to the
identity of the remains discovered in 1977.
3. Dating of the remains
Although the location of the burial, forensic analysis of the skeletal
remains and the historical records answer the questions « who », « where »,
« how », and « why », the final question, « when », is squarely the domain
of dating.
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J. Ericson and H. Ludena
Radiocarbon measurements were made at the NSF-Arizona Accelerator
Facility on samples of the wood box, textile (cloth), and bone gelatin from a
phalange prepared at the Center for Archaeological Research and Development, Harvard University in 1982 using the procedure of Krueger and
Sullivan (1984). The results of the radiocarbon measurements are listed in
Table 1.
TABLE
1.
Number
AA 1170
AA 1171
AA 1172
RADIOCARBON AGES OF THE SKELETON AND ASSOCIATED
ARTIFACTS OF FRANCISC0 PIZARRO
Description
Wood from box
Cloth (textile)
Bone gelatin (phalange)
Radiocarbon Age
(years BP)
Calendar Date*
(cal AD)
670 ± 70
600 ± 70
430 ± 60
1270-1400
1280-1420
1420-1500
• Conversion of radiocarbon ages to calendar dates using curves of Stuiver and Pearson
(1986) .
The radiocarbon dates are conventional radiocarbon ages. The radiocarbon ages to calendar data conversion was performed using curves of Stuiver
and Pearson (1986). The ranges (« spreads ») in calendar dates are obtained
using one standard deviation with the radiocarbon ages. The use of two
standard deviations for the bone gelatin result in a range of 1400-1630 cal
AD which includes 1541 cal AD, the death date of Francisco Pizarro
(Donahue, 1987). The age of the phalange (bone gelatin) sample is consistent
with the historical record.
It is more difficult to precisely interpret the age of the wood from the
box (1270-1400 cal AD) and cloth that covered it (1280-1420 cal AD). The
similarity of their ages suggests that they were produced together, perhaps,
imported from Spain at some time pre-dating the death of Pizarro in 1541.
Without ultimate provenience data or a history record of the cloth covered
wood box, it is impossible to proceed further. In the final analysis, all three
dates are not inconsistent with the historical records of burial.
The wood from the box turned out to be unsuitable for dendrochronological dating (Dean, 1981).
Radiographs of the wood sample performed by P. Dammers, Los
Angeles County Museum of Art, revealed the presence of nails whose
corrosion had diffused through the tissues of the wood.
4. Analysis of associated burial artifacts
Associate burial artifacts provide important data for scientific authentification. In addition, they provide a material record of the resources,
The Scientific Authentification of Francisco Pizarro
353
technology and culture in which they were created. Thereby, they embellish
the historical record with tangible remains. There were a number of artifacts
which were recovered in the accidental excavation of 1977. Ludena ( 1980) has
studied the morphological attributes of the fragmentary sword relative to
swords of that period and found it consistent.
The structure of the cloth (textile) which covered the wooden box was
thoroughly examined by C.C. McClean and her colleagues at the Los Angeles
County Museum of Art.
Unfortunatley, the velvet in her collection had not been diagrammed , so
that she was not able to date the fragment based on its structure (McClean,
1985).
Also the Direct Sulfuric Acid test (after Saltzman, 1978) applied to the
brown dye of the textile was non-diagnostic as to class or origin of the
colorant.
A comparative analysis of lead isotopes by isotopic dilution mass
spectrometry of a sample of the inscribed lead box with lead ores from the
Spanish silver mines at Rio Tinto, Thoris, and Linares remains to be
performed (Ericson, 1986).
5. Conclusions
The final results of the above and other published analyses of the
skeletal remains (Maples et a/., 1987) and artifacts (Ludena, 1980) are not
inconsistent with the technology, resources, chronology and historical record
of the culture, assassination, death, burial, loss, and rediscovery of the Don
Francisco Pizarro, conqueror and governor of Peru.
Jonathan E. ERICSON
Radiocarbon Laboratory
Program in Social Ecology
University of California, Irvine
US - IRVINE, CA 92717 U.S.A.
Hugo LUDENA
Universidad Nacional Mayor de San Marcos
PE - LIMA, Peru
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
The authors acknowledge the support, encouragement and analysis of a number of
dedicated scholars and scientists whose results form part of the data for this paper. The
interpretations are those of the authors.
We acknowledge the receipt of three radiocarbon dates from Professor D.J. Donahue
of the NSF Arizona Accelerator Facility who agreed in 1985 to run the dates. His
cooperation and those of his colleagues is most appreciated .
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J. Ericson and H. Ludena
We thank Jeffrey S. Dean, Laboratory of Tree-ring Research, University of Arizona,
Tucson, for attempting species identification and dendrochronological analysis of the wood
sample and Peter Dammers, Conservation Center, Los Angeles County Museum of Art for
the radiography of wood from burial box.
The preliminary forensic examination in 1978 of members of the Los Angeles County
Department of the Chief Medical Examiner/Coroner including Professor Judy M. Suchey
(also California State University, Fullerton), Dr. Dean V. Wisely, M.D. (deceased) and Dr.
Ronald L. Taylor; the UCLA team of physical anthropologists led by Professor B.J.
Williams, Professor Eleanor Bates (California State University, Long Beach), Dr. Michael
West (Los Angeles County Museum of Natural History) and UCLA student, Mary Waring ;
and Professor Reidar F. Sognnaes, D.M.D. (deceased). UCLA Schools of Medicine and
Dentistry are acknowledged for providing preliminary analysis in 1984 to warrant
proceeding with subsequent analyses, particularly in 1984.
The authors would like to thank Professor William Maples, Florida State Museum,
Gainesville, FL for discussions on analytical results and a pre-print of the analysis
performed in 1984 (Maples et a/., 1987).
We are grateful for the textile analysis of the cloth performed by Ms. C. McClean and
her colleagues, Ms. Ann Svenson and Ms. Dale Gluckman of the Conservation Center, Los
Angeles Museum of Art. The analysis is an important contribution to this paper.
The authors acknowledge the dye analysis performed by David M. McJunkin,
Laboratory for Historical Colorants, UCLA Institute of Geophysics and Planetary Physics,
and Max Saltzman of the same affiliation for discussions in May 1978.
Partial support for this work was underwritten by NIH grant ES0-4291-0.
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