This 15-year-old girl lived in the Inca empire and was sacrificed 500 years ago as an offering to the gods.
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This 15-year-old girl lived in the Inca empire and was sacrificed 500 years ago as an offering to the gods.
This 15-year-old girl lived in the Inca empire and was sacrificed 500 years ago as an offering to the gods.
She is preserved this well because she was frozen during sleep and kept in a dry cold condition at more than 6000 meters above sea level all this time. No other treatment was necessary.
Found in 1999 near the top of the Llullaillaco volcano, in northwestern Argentina, she was an archaeological revolution for being one of the best preserved mummies, since there was even blood in her body and her internal organs remained.
The children, known as the 'Maiden,' 'Llullaillaco Boy,' and 'Lightning Girl,' were carefully selected for their physical perfection and often hailed from noble or local ruler families. They were transported hundreds or even thousands of miles to Cusco, the capital, where they underwent significant purification rituals.
The sacrifice of these children, referred to as capacocha or qhapaq hucha, held great importance in Inca religion. It served as a way to commemorate significant events like the passing of a Sapa Inca. Human sacrifice was also used as an offering to the gods during times of famine and as a plea for protection. Sacrifices could only take place with the direct approval of the Inca emperor.
Today, the Children of Llullaillaco are displayed in the Museum of High Altitude Archaeology in the Argentine city of Salta. This museum houses various Incan artifacts discovered in the Argentine Andes, including one of the most astonishing finds – three mummified infants.
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