The Children of Llullaillaco

The first archaeological discovery (or rather discoveries) that I want to present are Children of Llullaillaco, also known as Mummies of Llullaillaco. As both names suggest, these are mummies of children which were discovered by a team of archaeologists led by Johan Reinhard on 16 March 1999 atop the Llullaillaco volcano (the highest active volcano on Earth that is located on the Argentina–Chile border). This is all the more important as the mummies are believed to be the best preserved Inca corpses ever found. 

Three mummies which were dug out on the volcano's slope turned out to be the embalmed bodies of three Inca children (two girls and one boy) who died approximately 500 years earlier. The oldest one – 15-year-old girl – is called la Doncella which means ‘virgin’ in Spanish. The other one is nine years younger and she was proved to be the half-sister of la Doncella. She was dubbed la Niña del rayo (‘lightning girl’) because her tomb was struck by lightning which burned some part of her corpse. The boy, nicknamed el Niño, was about 7 years old at the time of death.

from the left: la Doncella, el Nino, la Niña del rayo

From the moment of their discovery scientists have been constantly examining the bodies and, when trying to unravel the mystery of their deaths, they have come to the terrifying discovery that the three children found in 1999 were the victims of a ritual called capacocha that is "an important sacrificial rite among the Inca that typically involved the sacrifice of children".

“The Spanish chroniclers suggest that children were sacrificed for all kinds of reasons: important life milestones in the lives of the Incas, in times of war or natural disasters, but there was a calendar of rituals too." - Dr Emma Brown, department of archaeological sciences at the Universityof Bradford 

The first stage of this gloomy ritual, i.e. the selection of children who were meant to be sacrificed, was held in Cuzco – the capital of the Inca Empire. Then the "chosen ones" were taken from their families and placed in wealthy homes, where they were being prepared to be sacrificed. This preparatory process took about a year and was mainly based on fattening the children as it was believed that well-fed kids were a more valuable sacrifice to the gods. The researchers also found out that la Doncella, as well as la Niña del rayo and el Niño, had consumed enormous amounts of coca leaves and corn beer in the final months of their lives.                                                                                                    

“In Inca religious ideology, the authors note, coca and alcohol could induce altered states associated with the sacred. But the substances likely played a more pragmatic role as well, disorienting and sedating the young victims on the high mountainside to make them more accepting of their own grim fates.” - Brian Handwerk for National Geographic

The final stage of the ritual was an exhausting pilgrimage to the top of the volcano. When the procession reached its destination, the priests waited for the children (that were intoxicated with drugs and exhausted by physical effort) to fall asleep. Later on, when the children fell asleep, the priests in charge buried them alive in a previously prepared tombs. So we can assume that the same thing happened to the Children of Llullaillaco.

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I hope that this archaeological discovery from the end of the 20th century intrigues you and you are curious about other, equally surprising discoveries. If any of you would like to read more about the Children of Llullaillaco, here you have some interesting articles on this topic: 

• Final Moments of Incan Child Mummies' Lives Revealed
• Mummified Inca child sacrifice gives up her secrets
• Archaeological, radiological, and biological evidence offer insight into Inca child sacrifice

… and if you would like to see them with your own eyes, step into the Museum of High Altitude Archaeology in Salta (Argentine) where the mummies have been on exhibition since 2007. 

   from the left: el Niño, la Doncella, la Niña del rayo