The pre-Hispanic archaeological site of Kuelap in Chachapoyas, Peru, is representative of the variation in mortuary practices observed throughout the Chachapoya region. The goal of this study was to analyze the human skeletal remains excavated in the center of the Circular Platform between residential structures at Kuelap by creating an inventory of the remains (n=2,573) and determine the minimum number of individuals originally interred in the mortuary context. This study observed a total of 171 femora, 159 humeri, 74 calcanei, 110 ilium bones, 86 temporal bones, and 74 maxillae. Results show that this mortuary context was an ossuary of secondarily, commingled remains of at least 75 individuals and it is a previously undescribed type of tomb at Kuelap. There were significant statistical differences between the expected adult MNI (n=47) and the actual MNI counts of the ilium and cranial bones. Based on its location and the large number of individuals, I argue that this secondary ossuary had special ritual meaning to the people at Kuelap. This research is anthropologically significant because Kuelap is a major archaeological site and the variability of mortuary practices demonstrates the complex ways that people in the past treated the dead.

A juvenile’s dependency on their caregiver is significant to the overall development of nutritionally related pathological lesions. However, not all skeletal pathology is caused by nutritional stress; despite anemia being the usual inferred cause, the origin of Cribra Orbitalia (CO) – lesions on the orbital roofs of the cranium– is undetermined. The purpose of this research is to compare the reconstructed diets of juveniles with and without CO and explore connections to dietary patterns (inferred from stable isotope ratios of carbon and nitrogen). Rib bone samples of 79 juveniles with and without CO were sampled from the Kuelap archaeological site in Chachapoyas, Peru (AD 800–1532) – known for its archaeological diversity. Stable isotope analysis was conducted (δ13C and δ15N values) to statistically analyze each group’s values. Samples were further subdivided into age cohorts of infants (0–3 years), juveniles (4–11 years), and adolescents (12–18 years). The diets of juveniles with and without CO were determined to have no statistically significant difference between each other. However, a significant statistical difference did exist between the diets of the different juvenile age cohorts regardless of CO status, indicating that weaning and early dietary transitions through childhood affected the juvenile’s nutritional regime in the region. The research presented is the first study of the relationship between nutrition and CO from Kuelap; significantly, it further explores the lifestyle of past individuals in Chachapoyas through the understanding of childhood diets.