This is the picture of a teenage girl just as she was 500 years ago. The Inca girl was only about 15 when she was mummified and preserved in ice. Her body is so remarkably intact, she looks as if she’ll wake up at any moment, from a centuries-old time capsule.
Known as “La Doncella,” or The Ice Maiden, her body was preserved so well, she still had crimson blood in her veins and her organs were, for the most part, undamaged when archaeologists discovered her in 1999. She’s now on display at the High Mountain Archaeological Museum in Argentina, where she occupies a customized case that keeps her frozen while enveloped in a special gas to prevent deterioration and freezer burn.
When she died, no special care was taken to preserve her. Nature did all the work, placing her in a state of deep freeze.
She was found in a volcano along with the remains of two other children. She looks as if she fell peacefully asleep, her hands resting in her lap. Some scientists believe that she was among the many unfortunate children the Incas sacrificed. During her final days, she was likely marched to the 22,000-foot summit of the snow-topped Mount Llullaillaco, a volcano 300 miles west of the Chilean border. Once there she died of exposure, but before her and the other children passed away, they were found to be drugged with coca leaves, likely to ease their passing.
Another clue that she was sacrificed with the other two children found is the elaborate array of gold, silver, textiles and headdresses placed in the area of the children. It is also believed that La Doncella was known as a “Sun Virgin,” and chosen for her position in life as a toddler, where she was likely raised with other future royal wives, priestesses and sacrifices.
Even in this series of photos, she looks like she could spring to life at any moment and share intimate knowledge of her culture and her life. One of the archaeologists who found her commented that her hands look like they belong to a person who’s still alive.
But we can only piece together the clues as we find them and speculate about the details of her short but poignant life. Scientists did manage to find a modern DNA link to La Doncella — a man who lives about 1,000 miles from the burial site, which also means he is a “living Inca,” with direct ties to this ancient culture.
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