There are descendants of the Inca people who have expressed their belief that exhumation and display of the bodies are sacrilege and a gesture of great disrespected towards their culture.Rogelio Guanuco, the leader of the Indigenous Association of Argentina, stated on the issue that “Even though the three mummies of Llullaillaco remain exhibited in the Museum of High Altitude Archaeology in the Argentine city of Salta, agreements were made to stop further excavation of tombs in the High Andes area.Join 1000s of subscribers and receive the best Vintage News in your mailbox for FREE

You will receive a verification email shortly.There was a problem. A biochemical analysis of the hair of the oldest mummy, dubbed the Maiden of Llullaillaco, provided the details of the preparation process.Archeological site at the top of Llullaillaco Author Christian Vitri CC By SA 3.0It included a special diet and regular doses of coca leaves (from which cocaine is derived), intended both to sedate the future victims as well as to initiate them into another kind of ritual, as coca and its mind-altering effect was a regular part of the religious life of Incas. They replaced many of the indigenous buildings with convents and military barracks.Despite the scarce sources, it is well known about the Incas that peaks such as Llullaillaco were used as grounds for human sacrifices in rituals intended to ensure a good harvest, prevent natural disasters, or give a blessing to new emperors of the vast Incan realm.So the three bodies found frozen in 1999 were most definitely part of a sacrificial rite that took place in the Andes in the 16th century.The mummies found there were, in fact, children―the oldest of them being between 13 and 15 years of age―who spent the last year of their lives preparing for their role in the religious ceremony. Due to this particular coincidence, she was nicknamed the Lightning Girl.What remains fascinating is the degree to which the mummies are preserved. The largest mountain range in South America, the Andes, still holds many mysteries about the people who once lived there.

A biochemical analysis of the hair of the oldest mummy, dubbed the Maiden of Llullaillaco, provided the details of the preparation process. Thanks to the difficulties encountered in even reaching high mountain summits, the offerings have provided rare evidence of Inca religion that has survived the impact o… Mummies of 3 Inca children were discovered there in 1999 and exposed at the Salta museum of high altitude archeology (MAAM). Children from all over the Incan Empire would be taken on these sacrificial pilgrimages on various different mountains, where they would be placed in a tomb and either left to die by freezing or murdered by force.La Doncella on display. Catalog #. Please refresh the page and try again.Live Science is part of Future US Inc, an international media group and leading digital publisher.

© Three child mummies were discovered on the summit of the Llullaillaco volcano located on the Argentina-Chile border.

The only known Incan writing system, called Quipu, is yet to be fully deciphered, unlike the Mayan script, thanks to which their culture is better understood today.Llullaillaco from the east Author Dixk Culbert CC By 2.0On top of that, the Spanish conquistadors left very little trace of the Incas existence after they colonized the city of Cusco, the Incan imperial capital, in 1534.

New York, The three Llullaillaco mummies, including that of the 7-year-old boy (shown here), are preserved at Museum of High Mountain Archaeology (MAAM) in Salta, Argentina. Location. The Llullaillaco is located on the Chile-Argentina border, next to Paso de Socompa border crossing. Current Location.

Alan Wilson, an archaeologist and forensic scientist from Bradford University, was left stunned after witnessing the three bodies.

Unknown. Future US, Inc. 11 West 42nd Street, 15th Floor, Museum of High Altitude Archaeology.