Her hair, skin and clothes are all perfectly in tact. Her eyes are closed as if she’s only asleep. But the truth about this young girl is that she hasn’t been alive for hundreds of years—and the story of her death is as shocking as it is tragic.
The Maiden
In this lab environment, she looks like she’s simply fallen asleep in the wrong place and time. In fact, she looks about five hundred years out of place—because she is. The Llullaillaco Maiden might not look it, but she’s dead, and the circumstances of her death are as bizarre as they are terrible
Frozen for Centuries
The Maiden, who was somewhere around the age of 13 when she died, was found in 1999 with two other mummified Incan children, frozen high in the mountains. It’s believed that the Maiden froze to death—but it was no accident.
Child Sacrifices
The Maiden was the centerpiece of an Incan child sacrifice, orcapacocha. She was taken from a poor farming family and groomed as a gift for the Incan gods for over a year before her eventual death.
Drunken Rituals
“She was probably involved in a series of rituals, involving consumption of coca and alcohol, in the build-up to her sacrifice, which kept consumption at a steady level,” Andrew Wilson from University of Bradford told National Geographic
Booze and Drugs
Drugs and alcohol were only available to the wealthiest of Incans and held great ritual significance to Incan culture, especially when used in rituals. The two children found alongside the Maiden were also given coca, a leaf which was chewed as a stimulant and to relieve altitude sickness, and alcohol, but to a much lesser degree.
Llullaillaco Boy
The Maiden appears to have frozen to death, but the Llullaillaco Boy, who was found with the Maiden, met a more violent end. It’s believed that he struggled before his death, since he was found bound with ropes and with blood on his clothes. Most likely, he was suffocated before the others died.
Lightning Girl
“Lightning Girl”, so called because her body was charred after being struck by lighnting, met the same cold fate as the Maiden, but wast not revered in the same way. The Maiden was found with a beautiful headdress and hairstyle, which Lightning Girl lacked.
Lightning Girl
“Lightning Girl”, so called because her body was charred after being struck by lighnting, met the same cold fate as the Maiden, but wast not revered in the same way. The Maiden was found with a beautiful headdress and hairstyle, which Lightning Girl lacked.
Child Attendants
It’s believed that Lightning Girl and the Llullaillaco Boy were the Maiden’s attendants. They were only four or five years old when they were killed. Their bodies have been displayed alongside the Maiden’s since their discovery.
Volcano Burial
The trio was found here, at the top of Llullaillaco Volcano. The cold air and high altitude preserved their bodies so well, there was still blood available for samples in their veins. Scientists were able to determine that the Maiden was even suffering from a lung infection at the time of her death.
View From the Summit
This incredible view from the volcano’s peak is one of the last things these child sacrifices may have seen. Their sacrifice was considered a high honor; it was believed that after their deaths, they would transcend their mortal existence and go to live with the Gods, after which they would be able to communicate with Incan shamans in the human realm.
