MAAM Salta
The highlight of the Museo de Arqueología de Alta Montaña are the mummies of three children, sacrificed in the Inca period on the Llullaillaco volcano (6739 m), with over 100 burial offerings.
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The 15-year-old female may have been one of the "chosen women" (acllakuna) who had to grow up secluded and virginal until they were sacrificed to the sun god Inti. She was found in a semi-recumbent position with her head lowered on her chest, on which she wore a white feather crown, lying in the tomb next to her. There are reddish pigments on the cheekbones and around the lips and tiny pieces of coca leaves under the nose. The long hair is braided into thin plaits. The arms and hands rest folded on the stomach. The girl is dressed in a brown acsu (wrap dress) and a multicolored sash around her waist. A grayish cloak over her shoulders is held in place by a pin (tupu). On her right shoulder above the dress she wears a series of peculiar bone and metal pendants as jewelry. The bare feet are in moccasins. The dead woman was wrapped in a sand-colored cloth with colored trim, complemented by a similar fabric that wrapped the head and torso. On the right shoulder of the maiden lay folded a precious uncu (knee-length garment) with blue, red and yellow bands and checkerboard pattern (photo and info about it). Through interdisciplinary examinations, the maiden's diet could be determined - and also a considerably increased consumption of coca and alcohol towards the end of her life.
© Photos: MAAM Salta. Summary: Universes in Universe
The highlight of the Museo de Arqueología de Alta Montaña are the mummies of three children, sacrificed in the Inca period on the Llullaillaco volcano (6739 m), with over 100 burial offerings.