Sacrifices: Children of Llullaillaco

On March 16, 1999, the three mummified remains of children were found on the summit of  Llullaillaco on the Andes mountains on the border between Chile and Argentina.Because their names are unknown the three mummies were called, The Maiden (la Doncella), Lightning Girl (la niña del Rayo) and Llullaillaco Boy (el niño). The three were sacrifices for the Incas in the 1500s. The sacrifice was called Capacocha which typically involved the sacrificing of children. They were likely chosen because they were considered beautiful, unblemished, and talented.

The Maiden was around the age of  13 to 15-years-old. When she was found she wore a dress, and her hair was braided and she wore a feathered horned headdress. At the time she had a bacterial infection in her lungs.

It's believed that she was an aclla or a Sun Virgin or Chosen Woman. In the Inca Empire, the aclla may have been an adopted this tradition from earlier cultures. Each year girls not of noble birth between the ages of 8 to 12 were gathered as tributes for the state. They were typically chosen for their beauty and talents. These girls would then be raised in convents. These girls had taken a vow of chastity as the priestesses who raised them called Mamakuna, for preparation of their future roles. These girls would either be sacrificed, become Mamakuna's or sometimes became imperial concubines or wives of the noble. Unfortunately, in this situation, The Maiden became a sacrifice.

The Lightning girl was found to be the half-sister of The Maiden. She was likely around 4 to 7-years-old.  These two were not related to Llullaillaco Boy though. She was m She isn't believed to be an aclla as she did not have the same care as her older sister. Even though it showed that she had possibly been chosen for sacrifice around a year before. She did not have elaborate braids or a headdress. She did have an elongated skull. She had her head lifted high and facing toward the South-West. She was wearing a traditional light brown acsu dress and her head and body were wrapped in a wool blanket and then her body was wrapped with another that was a red and yellow embroidered.

The Llullaillaco Boy was likely around 4 to 7 -years-old had blood on his cloak, a nit infestation in his hair, and also had evidence of an elongated skull. He was the only one tied up. He was wrapped so tightly that his ribs and pelvis were dislocated. He may have been bound due to reluctance to being sacrificed. He was wearing a grey tunic, a silver bracelet, leather shoes, and was wrapped in a brown and red blanket.

For around a year all three had been taken from a village and may have lived in poverty as an analysis of their hair showed they had a diet of potatoes before. The Maiden showed that she had been fed better in the two years before her sacrifice. The other two were likely chosen within their last year. It was shown that they had ingested coca leaves (which makes cocaine) and alcohol.  Their ingestion of coca and alcohol was likely to induce altered states associated with the sacred.

It was shown that the Maiden's use of coca was high in the last year, and then there was a surge in her alcohol consumption the weeks leading up to her death. It's possible that the reason for this was because she knew of her fate coming closer. The children's use was lower than hers.

On the day they were sacrificed all three had a high protein meal. The Maiden was found to have chewed Coca leaves in her mouth and may have made her Docile and maybe end unconscious likely why she was found in a resting position. The other two did consume alcohol and coca, but not as much as The Maiden. They may still have been somewhat docile like her.

 It's believed that when the three got to the top of the mountain they were allowed to fall asleep. They were either put in the small tomb 1.5 meters underground and left to die. It's possible that The Boy was lying in a fetal position and likely died from suffocation instead of exposure like the other two. And unlike other Capacocha victims, they seemed to have died peacefully.


SOURCES:
Wikipedia
National Geographic
NBC News
Live Science 
Andes Specialists
Julia's Travels
Britannica (Chosen Women)