Mummy Juanita facts for kids

Momia Juanita (Spanish for "Mummy Juanita"), also known as the Lady of Ampato, is the well-preserved frozen body of a girl from the Inca Empire who was sacrificed to Inca gods sometime between 1440 and 1480, when she was approximately 12–15 years old. She was discovered on the dormant stratovolcano Mount Ampato (part of the Andes cordillera in southern Peru) in 1995 by anthropologist Johan Reinhard and his Peruvian climbing partner, Miguel Zárate. She is known as the Lady of Ampato because she was found on top of Mount Ampato. Her other nickname, the Ice Maiden, derives from the cold conditions and freezing temperatures that preserved her body on Mount Ampato.

Juanita has been on display in the Catholic University of Santa María's Museum of Andean Sanctuaries (Museo Santuarios Andinos) in Arequipa, Peru almost continuously since 1996, and was displayed on a tour in Japan in 1999.

In 1995, Time magazine chose her as one of the world's top ten discoveries. Between May and June 1996, she was exhibited in the headquarters of the National Geographic Society in Washington, D.C., in a specially acclimatized conservation display unit. In its June 1996 issue, National Geographic included an article dedicated to the discovery of Juanita.

Discovery

In September 1995, during an ascent of Mt. Ampato (20,700 ft; 6,300 m), Johan Reinhard and Zárate found a bundle in the crater that had fallen from an Inca site on the summit due to recent ice melt and erosion from a volcano eruption. To their astonishment, the bundle turned out to contain the frozen body of a young girl. Juanita was found almost entirely frozen, which preserved her internal organs, hair, blood, skin, and contents of her stomach.

They also found many items that had been left as offerings to the Inca gods including llama bones, small figurines and pottery pieces. The items were strewn about the mountain slope, down which the body had fallen. These included statues, food items (maize kernels and cob), and spondylus shells, which originate from ocean ecosystems. These have been connected to rain ceremonies throughout the Incan Empire. The clothing she wore resembled textiles from the elite from Cusco, the Inca capital. As Juanita is the closest discovered sacrifice to Cusco and was found with textiles of the wealthy, archaeologists believe that this could suggest she came from a noble Cusco family.

The body and the items were quickly transported to Arequipa to prevent thawing of the frozen specimen. The body was initially kept in a special refrigerator at the Catholic University. Juanita's body was transported to the United States for a CT scan in 1996 and was then exhibited in Japan in 1999. She is considered one of the most well-preserved mummies in the Andes.

Two more ice mummies, a young girl and a boy, were discovered in an archaeological expedition led by Dr. Reinhard and Prof. José Antonio Chávez in October 1995, and they recovered another female mummy on Ampato in December 1997. Volcanic ash from the nearby erupting volcano of Sabancaya induced ice melt in the area, which caused the Incan burial sites to collapse down into a gully or crater where they were soon discovered by Reinhard and his team. Reinhard published a detailed account of the discovery in his 2006 book entitled, The Ice Maiden: Inca Mummies, Mountain Gods, and Sacred Sites in the Andes.

Preparation for death

Through extracting DNA from Mummy Juanita's well-preserved hair, scientists were able to determine her diet prior to the sacrifice. The analysis of her hair indicated that Juanita was eating foods such as animal protein and maize, which were the diet of the elite, unlike the standard Inca diet of vegetables.

Cause of death

Radiologist Elliot K. Fishman concluded that she was killed by blunt trauma to the head.

Capacocha

The ritual sacrifice called Capacocha (or Qhapaq hucha) was a key component to the Inca Empire. This ritual was for celebratory events. These events included an annual or biennial event in the Incan calendar, the death of an emperor, the birth of a royal son, or a victory in battle, and were performed to prevent natural disasters such as volcanic eruptions, droughts, earthquakes, and epidemics.

As tribute payment, Inca rulers ordered boys and girls between the ages of 12 and 16 to sacrifice. Evidence of strontium analysis suggests that children were taken from several different geographical areas, brought to the Inca capital, and then potentially underwent months of travel to the sacred location at which they would be sacrificed.

Connecting climate and culture

Juanita was killed to appease Inca gods, or Apus. This practice often involves sacrificing a child at a huaca, or ceremonial shrine in a significant spiritual location, in this case Mt. Ampato. Children were selected as they were considered pure beings and worthy of giving to the Inca Gods. Once sacrificed, these children were believed to become messengers to the Apu(s) and act as negotiators for the people. The people in turn would worship the sacrificed children alongside worship of the gods. Ceremonial offerings happened annually, seasonally, or upon special occasions.

Juanita and several others were likely sacrificed to appease the gods after volcanic eruptions on the nearby Misti (1440-1450) and Sabancaya (1466) volcanos. Volcanic eruptions cause irregularities in climate that can last between 3–5 years depending on location and intensity. In these circumstances, precipitation patterns are altered due to particulate presence in the air. These periods are usually indicated by abnormal dryness or wetness. Overall, research has indicated that volcanic eruptions lead to a general trend of drought or less precipitation. Particulate from the explosions can also contaminate water supply and air quality.

It is probable that Juanita was sacrificed in response to climatic irregularities to placate the gods in return for water. Incan belief at the time was that mountains (and their spirits) controlled weather and water and, thus, were intertwined with the villages below. The prosperity of the crops and people depended on the approval of the mountain deity to provide water for their consumption and irrigation. Water is a life-giving source and was perceived to be connected with femininity and fertility. Therefore, the mountains that provided water were attributed to be female deities by the Incas. In Southern Peru, it was believed that sacrificing a young female would appease the mountain deity who would in turn provide a consistent water supply to the region.

Others have suggested that child sacrifice could in part be used as a political strategy by Incan leaders to ensure control over the empire. Sacrifices during this time of empire expansion would infix a combination of respect and fear while further embedding devotion.

See also

In Spanish: Momia Juanita para niños

• Children of Llullaillaco
• Chinchorro mummies
• "Inca Mummy Girl"
• Ötzi the Iceman
• Pazyryk Ice Maiden
• Plomo Mummy