A small boy found in the Andes mountains is believed to have been a human sacrifice. In the oldest city in Mexico, remains of babies have been found under alters. After a volcano melted the ice cap on Nevado Ampato Peak, searchers found the first female mummy in the Andes. These were apparently intentional sacrifices who became accidental mummies.
The
Ice Maiden
In 1995, The Mountain Institute expedition, with anthropologist John Reinhart and Miguel Zarate, set out to climb Mount Ampato, Peru, in search of sacred sites. They thought they saw a backpack, but it turned out to be a small body wrapped up in cloth. The Ice Maiden was 12 to 14 years old and was sacrificed to the mountain gods. Tied to Reinhart's backpack, she made her trip down the mountain. She weighed about 80 pounds because her flesh was frozen and attached to her bones, not dried out. They kept her well wrapped and made a quick trip to the freezer at Catholic University in Arequipa.
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When some brave researchers recently tasted ancient food left for mummies to eat in the afterlife all agreed...YUCK! Archeologists have proclaimed that reconstituted gruel, the last meal of the bog mummies, was worse than dying itself. And how many would enjoy the lunch packed for some Inca mummies. . .chicken, corn and caterpillars? |
As you surf the web for mummies, you may find some rather grotesque mummies. They could be from a Mexican museum. In Mexico an old law said if you didn't pay for your grave site after five years you could be evicted (dug up and thrown out!) Before the law was changed, these mummies (bodies that had been preserved by the dry climate and soil conditions) became curiosities in museums. Some are naked, others have boots, shoes and sometimes clothing. Often mummies on display are not complete and show signs of pot marks from insect damage.
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Three Inca Children Sacrifices Found
The composite drawing above will make you want to make you look at the November, 1999 issue of National Geographic which shows some haunting pictures of three recently discovered mummified Incan children. These Children were found at 22,000 ft., it is the world's highest archeological site. Frozen in time in a burial platform on top of Argentina's Mount Llullaillaco. The children are so well preserved that the hair on their arms is still visible.
You will find yourself staring at their pictures as they appear to be asleep - although they were drugged and sacrificed over 500 years ago. The only apparent damage to the boy and two girls is lightning damage to the side of one of the girl's face. Their organs are intact and may even contain blood.
Inca child sacrifices are by far one of the most fascinating of all mummies. Looking at the children, you wonder if they were freely offered or taken unwillingly from their parents. They sit with their arms wrapped around their legs, covered in blankets and robes that still retain their beautiful colors. What seems to be a big blanket is actually their oversized robes that allow for their growth in their future, eternal life. They have with them something that was more valuable than gold . . . sea shells. These were taken with them to give to the gods that controlled their lives. Being close to their age, it's hard to imagine facing such a fate.
When the Spanish conquered the Inca, they no longer permitted the practice of mummification and even destroyed unknown numbers of Incan burial sites. The Inca civilization disappeared, or did it? Recent discoveries are being subjected to DNA testing which could link them to Peruvian descendants.