Few days back I wrote about the maiden Inca mummy (La Doncella) that went for display in Argentina Museum. Also, I mentioned the two other bodies that were found in an icy pit on Mount Llullaillaco. I’ve got some interesting facts about these Inca children. Go about reading if you wish to know these facts.
In the year 1999, archaeologists unearthed the bodies of three Inca children in a volcano in north-west Argentina. These were among the best preserved mummies ever found. Their internal organs were intact, there was blood present in the heart and lungs and their skin and facial features were unmarked. Alongwith the bodies, the archaeologists discovered the cloth, pottery and figurine. The preservation of the mummies didn’t require much effort they were kept in freezers and are still well preserved.
How did Inca children die?
Capacocha was a religious ritual that Inca people followed some 500 years ago. As a part of the ritual, beautiful, healthy, physically perfect children were sacrificed for religious reasons. Inca people believed that the children did not die, but joined their ancestors and watched over their villages from the mountaintops like angels. These three Inca children were also a part of this religious ritual. The children were made to walk hundreds of miles to perform ceremonies in Cuzco and were taken to the summit of Mount Llullaillaco where they were given chicha (maize beer). Once they were asleep, they were placed underground where they froze to death.
Now the Inca maiden is in display at the museum and is kept in an acrylic cylinder inside a box made of triple-paned glass. A computerized climate control system replicates mountaintop conditions inside the case.
The two other Inca children were a 6-year-old girl and 7-year old boy and had elongated skulls. There are burn scars on the girl’s face. The two other mummies have not yet been shown, but will be put on display within the next six months.
The question that comes to my mind after writing this post is that how can religious rituals be so brutal. It’s really unkind on the part of Inca people to sacrifice little children for religious reasons.
Source: IHT
