New Scientist
Image: José Fontanelli
Sitting cross-legged, a Mona Lisa half-smile playing on her lips, the Llullaillaco Maiden looks at peace. When she was unearthed in 1999, the lump of coca in her teeth and her icy mountaintop tomb were the only clues that she was part of an Inca child sacrifice ritual 500 years ago.
Now the latest studies of her perfectly preserved body offer an unprecedented glimpse into her life in the months leading up to her death – possibly from hypothermia – and raise questions about the extent to which she was aware of, and accepted, the fate that had been mapped out for her.
The frozen body of the 13-year-old Maiden was entombed in a small chamber 1.5 metres underground near the summit of Volcán Llullaillaco in Argentina, together with the bodies of two 4 or 5-year-olds. With the blood still visible in their hearts and their lungs inflated, the three are probably the best-preserved mummies anywhere in the world, says Andrew Wilson at the University of Bradford in the UK. “They look very recognisable as individuals, which adds to the poignancy of their story.” Read more on newscientist.com…
