The chilling yet fascinating tale of a 15-year-old Inca girl, preserved for over five centuries on a windswept mountaintop in Argentina, has captured the awe of the archeological community. Named ‘The Maiden,’ she was found in 1999 along with two other young companions, dubbed ‘the boy’ and ‘the girl of lightening.’ Their bodies, left as offerings to the gods, were naturally mummified by the frigid mountain air, their organs and even facial expressions remarkably intact.
Discovered nearly untouched by time, ‘The Maiden’ was adorned in a ceremonial tunic and a headpiece, symbols of her revered role as a divine messenger, according to National Geographic. The extreme cold preserved not only their bodies but also a slice of ancient Incan culture.
Johan Reinhard, who co-led the discovery expedition, shared his excitement with National Geographic in 2005, saying, “The discovery of the three mummies [in 1999] … was the highlight of my life, or certainly [of] my work in the Andes. These mummies were far better preserved … than the Ice Maiden.” The Ice Maiden refers to another well-preserved mummy found in Peru in 1995.
‘The Maiden’ and her companions are a treasure trove of information. She had consumed corn liquor, possibly to ease her into the next life, and had coca leaves in her mouth, a traditional remedy for the harsh mountain altitude.
Also part of this poignant mountaintop tableau was a six-year-old girl, called ‘the girl of lightening’ due to post-mortem lightning strikes that scorched her body, and a seven-year-old boy, each chosen for their physical perfection and health, as DNA tests confirm.
In the Inca culture, being chosen as a sacrifice was not seen as a death but as an eternal communion with the gods, watching over their villages from the skies. ‘The Maiden’ and her fellow mummies represent not only a direct link to the past but also a deeply ingrained belief in the afterlife and spiritual continuation.
In 2007, the story of ‘The Maiden’ took another twist when her remains were put on public display for the first time at the Museum of High Altitude Archaeology, allowing us a closer look at this incredible chapter of human history.