The Inca Empire is regarded as one of the most successful empires of pre-Columbian times. Their religious rituals have fascinated historians for decades, and thanks to one archaeologist, we have more insight into what exactly went on between the Inca priests and emperors. One particular mummified child shed a lot of light on the empire's darker practices...
A New Inca Discovery
The heart of the Inca Empire was located in Cusco, Peru. It was the largest pre-Columbian civilization in America, and covered ground from Peru, Ecuador, Bolivia, Argentina, Chile, and Colombia. It was regarded as one of the most advanced empires of its time...
Sun Worship
The Inca leaders encouraged sun worship to the god Inti. It was more revered than the earth goddess Pachamama, and the Incas considered their king to be "son of the sun." Proof of these legends has been discovered by archeologists over time...
A New Dig
Famed archaeologist Johan Reinhard explored the Inca empire in 1999 and discovered the highest Inca site. No other team had ever ventured that far, but Reinhard set up camp high in an Argentinian volcano. Little did he know, uncovering the site alone wouldn't be his greatest achievement...
A Sacred Quechua Volcano
The Incas regarded this volcano, the Llullaillaco volcano, as sacred. It borders Argentina and the Atacama Region of Chile and has an elevation of 6,600 feet above sea level. Reinhard was about to make three very important discoveries during his time in the volcano...
A Dark Part of Inca Religion
One aspect of the Inca religion was "Qhapaq hucha," or human sacrifice. The Inca people mainly used children for these rituals. They were sacrificed after important events, such as a famine or the death of an emperor. Children were considered the purest beings, which is why they were typically selected...
Considered a High Honor
Children were chosen years in advance, and the process to ensure their physical perfection was lengthy. They were given hearty diets that were typically reserved for the emperor and his court in order to fatten them up. The night before a sacrifice, the children were adorned in jewels and fine clothing and attended a feast in their honor...
A Perilous Journey
The following day, the emperor would lead the children up the volcano. The journey was often too difficult for the youngest children, so they were given cacao leaves to help with their breathing and also acted as an inhibitor so they wouldn't be too afraid. But what happened at the summit is the most terrifying part...
A Temporal Death
The emperor would then strangle, bludgeon, or leave the children to die from exposure in the volcano's summit. However, Inca people didn't believe human sacrifices truly "died," but rather watched over the land from beyond. Johan Reinhard had no idea what he was about to uncover on this particular expedition...
The Children of Llullaillaco
On March 16th, 1999, Reinhard uncovered the body of not one, but three sacrificed children on the summit of Llullaillaco. He said they "appear to be the best-preserved Inca mummies ever found." Other archaeologists have said they may be the best-preserved mummies in the world. So who were they?
A Shallow Grave
The children, two girls and one boy, were discovered in a grave along with textiles, gold, shells, and pottery. One of the girls had been struck by lightning after her death, causing burns to her shoulder and face. The other two were in pristine condition...
Nearly Giving Up
There were several times when Reinhard and his crew thought they might not make it to the summit. The acclimatization process was extremely difficult, and they'd spent a month exploring the volcano's base because it was easier to navigate. They endured extreme temperatures, difficult altitudes, and storms before their hard work paid off...
La Doncella
La Doncella, or "Maiden of Llullaillaco," was determined to be fifteen years old at the time of her death. She is Reinhard's most famous discovery due to her near-perfect physical condition. Several tests were done to determine her cause of death and history...
A Close Examination
It was determined that she died in her sleep due to exposure, as did the rest of the children. She had a bacterial infection in her lungs which was likely due to the extreme temperatures she was exposed to. She was adorned in a feather headdress and her hair was elegantly braided. Her childhood revealed much about the Inca's sacrificial rituals...
A "Sun Virgin"
La doncella was regarded as a Sun Virgin, or an "aclla," and was chosen and sanctified at the age of ten. She lived with other girls and women who were meant to become royal wives, priestesses, and sacrifices. She lived a luxurious and comfortable life, and her role as a sacrifice was viewed as honorable...
La Niña del Rayo
The other girl, La Doncella's half-sister, was just six years old. Reinhard called her La niña del rayo. Her face and shoulder were damaged by a lightning strike, but her head was lifted high. She also died of exposure, like her sister...
Treated With Care
Reinhard determined that both of the girls had been treated very carefully before they were left to die. La niña was wrapped in a blanket, and she wore a traditional brown dress. Her skull had also been intentionally elongated. The boy, however, was not given the same care...
El Niño
The boy was determined to be about seven years old and is also the only child who likely died as a result of stress, which was determined based on evidence from his body. He was the only child who was tied up...
Preventing a Famine
Because he was tied up, it's likely this child died of suffocation. He wore a gray tunic and traditional jewelry. He was buried with several small objects, some of which depicted Inca traditions to signify the end of the dry season. It's likely these children were sacrificed due to a famine.
Drugged Before Sacrifice
Scientists discovered that all three children had been drugged with a fermented maize drink called chicha. Though they'd all been forced to consume large amounts of alcohol (likely to make them more docile), the oldest girl drank much more. She had the highest concentration of cocoa and chicha ever found in Andean human remains.
As If They Were Still Alive
The bodies were so well-preserved, scientists couldn't believe it. Their hair was intact, their lungs were inflated, and blood still filled their hearts. They'd never seen anything like this before. It made piecing together the past much easier...
Sacrificial Children Aren't Uncommon Finds
Another Inca girl, Tanta Carhua, was given away as a sacrifice by her father. He traded her to the emperor in order to claim a cacique position in society, which would entitle him to high-quality food and products. Her story is fascinating...
"Beautiful Beyond Exaggeration"
That's how one Spanish historian described Tanta Carhau. She was ten years old at the time of her death. She served as a Capacocha sacrifice. This was a type of ritual that Incas performed in order to ensure that only humanity's best joined the deities in the afterlife...
A Goddess Status
A great procession passed through Tanta's home village while she and the emperor journeyed to the mountain where she would be sacrificed. She told her village, "You can finish with me now because I could not be more honored than by the feasts which they celebrated for me in Cuzco." Her sacrifice was a little different than that of the children of Llullaillaco...
Transformed Into a Goddess
Tanta was taken to an Andean mountain, put into a tomb, and then walled into the mountain alive. She was fed Chicha as well, in order to dull her senses. After death, she was given a Goddess status and presumably spoke to her people an "an oracle" from her grave...
A Beneficial Position
If a child served as a sacrifice, an elevated status was then placed on the sacrifice's family because of the honor. A sacrifice was never viewed as an act of punishment but rather a supreme gift. The child would be honoring their own family as well as ensuring prosperity for the empire...
Not All Deaths Were Peaceful
Though there are several accounts of peaceful deaths like Tanta's, there are other instances where the child was brutally killed. Following a ritual celebration at the place of sacrifice, many children were knocked unconscious, and the bodies have skull fractures as proof. However, this was likely due to preventing them from having to suffer for a long time in the elements...
Subsequent Offerings
After the child died, the Inca priests would return to the site several times and leave offerings of coca leaves. Other times, they'd leave a miniature figurine of the child as a sign of respect. Those are telltale clues that modern archaeologists use to look for burial sites...
Modern Incas Feel Disrespected
Following the exhumation of the Children of Llullaillaco, the modern Incas said displaying the mummies was disrespectful to indigenous rights. Rogelio Guanuco, leader of the AIRA, said displaying the children was "a violation of our loved ones" and disrespectful to the sanctity of Llullaillaco...
The Museum of High Altitude Archaeology
All three children are currently on display in The Museum of High Altitude Archaeology, a museum entirely filled with mummies, in Argentina. All bodies rest in computer-controlled climate systems, ensuring the perfectly preserved bodies stay that way. The museum took eight years of research to perfect their preservation technology...
Historical Findings
The children of Llullaillaco are one of the most revolutionary archaeological finds in Argentina's history. The stories of child sacrifices have gone down as some of the most controversial and fascinating in Inca culture. The modern Inca people do not partake in these rituals anymore.