One of the most important museums in Argentina, the Museo de Arqueologia de Alta Montana holds the mummies of 3 Inca children, buried alive on a high mountain top in a child sacrifice ceremony nearly 500 years ago. The artefacts recovered from the bodies are superb and the children, beautifully preserved by the cold, dry air are very moving: simply unmissable!
Despite its great ceremonial and religious significance, no one can put a date on the death of the three children other than that it occurred roughly 500 years ago, but we do know when they were discovered. On 16th March 1999, an archaeological team found the grave near the summit of Llullaillaco, a 6,739 metres volcano on the border between Chile and Argentina. The tomb, buried under 5 foot of earth and rock, has been described as the ‘world’s highest archaeological site’.
Three children emerged into daylight again in a perfect state of preservation due to the cold dry air: a maiden, La Doncella, of about 13 years old and two children of about 4 – 5: the boy, El Nino, and the Lightning Girl, La Nina del Rayo. The latter was so called as she had been burnt by a lightning bolt after death, possibly due to the metal headdress she was wearing.
They had been sacrificed by the Incas in a ritual known as Capacocha which was used to commemorate important events, or as an offering to the gods in times of famine, or even just to ask for protection. Subsequent tests revealed that they had been drugged consistently in the year, and days, leading up to the ceremony. Cocoa leaves were found in the cheek of the maiden though it would appear more force may have been used on the boy as vomit and blood was found on his cloak.
We know that these children would have been chosen for their physical perfection and would have come from noble or ruling families; the two younger ones had signs of skull elongation which was a status symbol. After a year at Cusco, the Inca capital, undergoing various rituals, they would have been taken to the high mountains from where, after their deaths, they would watch over the land with their ancestors.
They were literally dressed to kill: fine dresses and blankets, braided hair and elaborate feathered headdresses that look just as vivid today as they would have done then. The boy was the only one tied up, wrapped tightly in a blanket in a foetal position, and may have died of suffocation. The maiden is in a sitting position with her legs crossed and her arms resting in her lap, her head slumped on her chest, as if she had indeed just fallen asleep; as they froze before desiccation could take place, the bodies are still plump, almost lifelike. The scientists said it was like working with children, not mummies.
In addition, fine grave tokens accompanied them: beautiful doll like fetishes with intricately embroidered clothing, gold, silver and shell figures and pottery. Perhaps most touching were the little mini sandals, reminding one of their last walk up the mountain from which they would not return.
Finally after much deliberation, the children were put on display at the Museo de Arqueologia de Alta Montana (Museum of High Altitude Archaeology) in Salta in September 2007, a fitting place indeed as the city was once part of the Inca Empire in the late 1400s and early 1500s, before the Spanish arrived in the late 1500s. They are kept in a carefully monitored environment that mimics the conditions on the volcano to prevent deterioration and only one is ever on display at any one time.
And now I was looking at the boy, his slight figure wrapped in a red and brown blanket with his leather shod feet peeking out of the bottom. A jaunty white feather headdress was on his head, though his face was largely obscured, and a silver bangle on one arm. It is difficult to come face to face with someone so lifelike yet 500 years dead; I looked back through the centuries, the event brought to life by the finely displayed artefacts and information I had just read on the ceremony.
I felt conflicting emotions of awe and sadness as I confronted a distant reality: the display certainly takes one out of one’s comfort zone. Apparently there are some 40 other such mountain burials but the thought is that these should be left undisturbed in deference to the native peoples of today. These mummies are unique, a time capsule from another age – for anyone interested in Inca history they are an essential visit.
Notes
Museo de Arqueologia de Alta Montana is easy to find, situated on the main Plaza 9 de Julio in the centre of Salta
