Inca Mummies: Frozen in Time

Inca Mummies: Frozen in Time

Photograph by Stephen Alvarez, National Geographic

Anthropologist and National Geographic Explorer-in-Residence Johan Reinhard's research in the Andes and his expertise in mountain people's sacred landscape beliefs draw him to high altitudes every year. He has investigated Inca ceremonial sites including Peru's Ampato volcano (above, in 1995), the Nasca Lines, and the ancient ceremonial centers of Machu Picchu, Chavin, and Tiahuanaco.

"I was approaching Ampato's 20,700-foot summit for the first time since we had discovered a frozen Inca mummy, the Ice Maiden, the month before. We had found her by chance during a normal ascent, and we had no time to make a closer search of the summit area. We were rushing to get the mummy to a city and into a freezer before she unfroze. We had found the mummy lying on the surface, because its burial site had been destroyed when Ampato's summit ridge collapsed. It and other Inca objects had been strewn down a gully into the summit crater 200 feet below. I returned with an archaeology team, and we had recovered two more Inca mummies at a 19,000-foot site only days earlier. Unfortunately, both had been badly damaged by lightning, but we felt certain that we would find more well-preserved Inca artifacts—and possibly another mummy—near the summit. Although some people believe the erupting volcano visible in the photo (above) must have posed a threat, we gave it no thought, as it had been active for the past few years and become a part of daily routine. Our main concern was of snow. Any that might have fallen on the summit in the past weeks would make a search difficult, if not impossible. Fortunately, we were able to recover rare Inca artifacts, although no more mummies.

"The Ice Maiden was an important discovery because she was one of only a few frozen Inca mummies found and the first one in Peru, the homeland of the Inca. It was also the first female frozen mummy. She provided unique insights into the dress of an Inca noblewoman. Also scientific studies to be carried out would increase our understanding of the Inca culture of 500 years ago.

"True time capsules, these frozen bodies allow a view into the past that cannot be obtained through any other means, including that of the best-preserved mummies found in other climates, such as in the deserts of Egypt. Due to their excellent preservation, finds made at high altitudes enable unique opportunities for studies ranging from the biological (perfect DNA, ancient diseases, nutrition, etc.) to the archaeological. Because of the Inca practice of making human sacrifices at sites on high mountains, the Andes region is the only one in the world with a good chance of finding frozen mummies—assuming systematic work is conducted before they are destroyed by looters and lost to mankind forever."