About 500 years ago this girl. Scientists have found out what the ancient Incas did with the girl before they sacrificed her. What scientists have found

The history of the discovery and development of America is inextricably linked with tragic facts. It is no secret that the Europeans who arrived were quite harsh with the indigenous population. So, the Inca tribe living in South America was practically destroyed in the era of Columbus (about 90% died, including from diseases). The history of this tribe is still poorly understood. The more valuable are the finds of archaeologists, which make it possible to obtain reliable facts from the life of the Incas. Quite a lot of information was given by the last find - the mummies of 3 children. Studies of the mummy of a girl, sacrificed along with other children 500 years ago, made it possible to give accurate answers to a number of questions. And learn about the traditions associated with the mysterious rite of sacrifice "kapa kocha".

About the find

In 1999, an expedition to the top of the Llyullaillaco volcano (the Incas called it Yu-Yi-Ya-Ko) in Argentina at an altitude of 6,723 m, an ancient burial was found. In three cramped cells, one child was found: two girls, their age was determined as 13-14 and 5-6 years old, and a seven-year-old boy was left in ice captivity. Incredibly, after 500 years of being in permafrost at an altitude of almost 7 thousand meters, the mummies looked like they were left just yesterday. Even stranger was the fact that they looked happy and the older girl was smiling! How is this possible? A person who is about to be sacrificed, that is, simply killed, does not even try to resist or evade the blow.

Next to the "ice princess" and her "accompanying" to another world, were found:

• cloth;
• headdresses made of white feathers (from which birds they were taken is still unknown);
• food bowls;
• gold and silver.

All these items were found on the volcano along with the mummies. The finds are not in doubt - everyone was sacrificed according to the rite "kapa kocha". The girl and the younger ones, along with valuable artifacts, were taken to the laboratory of the City University of New York (New York University), where the study of the remains, which had lain for 500 years in extreme cold, was entrusted to a group of scientists led by Angelica Kortals.

The older mummy was given a name - Maiden ("Maiden"). It was she who became the main object of research. Later, scientists began to study the boy, and they had to act very carefully with the body of the youngest - it looks like he was hit by lightning. Therefore, scientists fear for the accuracy of research: a lightning strike can affect the results. But the data obtained is quite enough to understand exactly how the ancient Incas coaxed their gods.

What scientists have found

After archaeologists led by Johan Reinhard (National Geographic Society, Washington, USA) found a 500-year-old girl and her "companions", great opportunities for new research opened up for scientists. The fact is that, unlike the Egyptian mummies, the found "ice princess" was not subjected to embalming. The mummies were preserved only thanks to the cold. That gave a chance to conduct a series of tests and get reliable results.

The object of research was tissues (the internal organs were perfectly preserved, and even blood in the blood vessels) and hair. Standard DNA analysis was not done, it was much more important to understand what happened to the children. Hair in this case is the most valuable material, because they tend to accumulate various substances in themselves. This made it possible to make a number of discoveries and quite accurately determine the way of life, moreover, for a period of several years before the death of children.

Sacrifice according to the rite "kapa kochi"

According to the information about this rite that has survived to this day, beautiful children were chosen as a sacrifice, especially attractive teenage girls, virgins, were considered a “valuable gift” for the gods. They were “selected” not by their social status, but solely by their appearance, they were taken away from their parents. The choice was made by special people. The "chosen ones" were kept in special conditions - they were well fed, not burdened with work.

This fact was confirmed by research on the hair of a 500-year-old girl. She, apparently, was from an ordinary family and ate the simplest food. After she was chosen as a victim, the diet changed dramatically - for about a year the teenager was fed llama meat and maize, food intended for the upper class of the Incas. It was a time of idleness - the accumulated subcutaneous fat speaks of a sedentary lifestyle. Death occurred as a result of a blow to the head with a heavy object, as evidenced by a characteristic skull injury. A similar pattern was found in other mummies.

Teenagers sacrificed by the ancient Incas for a long time consumed coca leaves and beer. This conclusion was reached by archaeologists from several countries who studied the mummy of a teenage girl found in 1995.

Previously, scientists believed that drugs were given to the victims only before death and during the ascent to the mountain peak, where the ritual was performed. Details with reference to an article by researchers in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences are provided by Nature News. It is reported by Day.Az with reference to Lenta.ru.

Scientists have studied the mummified remains of a girl whose age at the time of death was about 13 years old, and at the moment the girl is about 500 years old. Many of the circumstances of her death were already well known, so archaeologists conducted additional analyzes: in particular, the hair of the "ice bride" was examined. Using mass spectrometry, it was possible to determine the content of cocaine and cocaethylene, one of the metabolites of cocaine, in the hair. These analyzes showed a level of drug content at the level of modern users of coca leaves, which cannot be explained by a single use of coca before the ritual.

Previously, among archaeologists, it was widely believed that coca leaves were given to the victims when climbing to the place of their death (the mummies of Inca children are found at an altitude of almost six kilometers) and immediately before the murder. It was assumed that the victims also received some other intoxicating substance, which was supposed to facilitate the process of sacrifice: and before that, the children chosen for the ritual did not consume any substances that affect the psyche. Scientists analyzed the hair of not only the "ice bride", but also two other mummies, which only strengthened their hypothesis: they all chewed coca leaves for a year. In addition, archaeologists have identified similar traces of alcohol consumption: the victims drank quite a lot of beer for about a year. Alcohol and coca were, according to researchers, part of the ritual preparation for the sacrifice.

The mummy was preserved very well due to the low temperature in the highlands. Archaeologists were even able to determine its mass, which, according to scientists, is close to lifetime, about forty kilograms.

Previous studies, including isotopic analysis conducted in 2007, have also shown the victims to switch to more valuable foods, including meat. The information accumulated by archaeologists allows us to say that children or teenagers were selected for the role of victims (if the “ice bride” is 13 and she could well be really a bride, then the other two mummies are children 4 and 5 years old: a boy and a girl), who then a year lived a life different from all the other Incas. They were fed the best foods, given alcohol and coca leaves, they wore special clothes, and a year later they were sent to the highest mountain peaks. Death, as established by forensic doctors who studied the mummies, occurred due to a blow to the head with a blunt object. The "Ice Bride" died after being struck with what looked like a modern-day baseball bat, crushing the bones of her skull and causing a massive hemorrhage that compresses the girl's brain.

The bodies of all the victims were thrown from the mountainside along with many items, including gold and silver figurines.

Human sacrifice, including the ritual killing of children, was common in virtually all pre-Columbian civilizations in the Americas. The Incas made sacrifices during important events in honor of the gods, of whom there were several dozen in their pantheon. Among the main ones, the sun god Inti and the supreme god Viracocha stand out.

A teenage girl of 14-15 years old, who was sacrificed about 500 years ago, has lain in the ice on the top of a six-thousander for all the past centuries, which contributed to the excellent preservation. Next to her are the frozen bodies of two more young victims: a seven-year-old boy and a six-year-old girl.

1. Instead of the traditional DNA analysis, the scientists studied the proteins in the tissues and found that the seemingly healthy girl had a bacterial lung infection that resembled tuberculosis. For the first time, the infection was detected in a mummy.

2. A group of researchers from New York University (City University of New York), led by Angelique Kortals (Angelique Corthals) studied samples of the mummy (the so-called Maiden, "Maiden"),

3. A unique mummy was discovered in 1999 on the slope of the volcano Llullaillaco (Llullaillaco), towering 6739 meters above sea level on the border of Argentina and Chile.

4. Three mummies were found, which, unlike the embalmed Egyptian "colleagues", were subjected to deep freezing. The body of a seven-year-old boy was also studied, but scientists have not yet decided to examine the remains of a six-year-old girl. Probably, it was once struck by lightning, which may affect the accuracy of the results of the study.

5. Most likely, three children were sacrificed, as evidenced by the artifacts next to them: gold, silver, clothes, bowls of food and an extravagant headdress made from white feathers of unknown birds.

6. Historians suggest that children were chosen by the Incas for their beauty (in addition, children were considered purer creatures than adults) and sacrificed. The Incas did not often sacrifice children.

7. In the course of previous studies it was found that before they were sacrificed, children were fed for a year on "elite" products - maize and dried llama meat, although before that they had eaten exclusively peasant food, consisting of potatoes and vegetables.

A girl from the Inca tribe, who is over 500 years old. This 14-15-year-old teenage girl, who was sacrificed about 500 years ago, has lain in the ice on top of a six-thousander for all the past centuries, which contributed to excellent preservation. Next to her are the frozen bodies of two more young victims: a seven-year-old boy and a six-year-old girl.

Instead of the traditional DNA analysis, the scientists studied the proteins in the tissues and determined that the seemingly healthy girl had a bacterial lung infection that resembled tuberculosis. For the first time, the infection was detected in a mummy.

A group of researchers from New York University (City University of New York), led by Angelique Kortals (Angelique Corthals) studied samples of the mummy (the so-called Maiden, "Maiden").

A unique mummy was discovered in 1999 on the slope of the Llullaillaco volcano, rising 6739 meters above sea level on the border of Argentina and Chile. Three mummies were found, which, unlike the embalmed Egyptian "colleagues", were subjected to deep freezing. The body of a seven-year-old boy was also studied, but scientists have not yet decided to examine the remains of a six-year-old girl. Probably, it was once struck by lightning, which may affect the accuracy of the results of the study.

Most likely, three children were sacrificed, as evidenced by the artifacts next to them: gold, silver, clothes, bowls of food and an extravagant headdress made from white feathers of unknown birds.

Historians suggest that the children were chosen by the Incas for their beauty (in addition, children were considered purer creatures than adults) and sacrificed. The Incas did not often sacrifice children.

In the course of previous studies, it was found that before they were sacrificed, children were fed "elite" products - maize and dried llama meat - for a year, although before that they ate exclusively peasant food, consisting of potatoes and vegetables.