Overview of the Inca frozen mummies from Mount Lullaillaco (Argentina)

Autores
Ceruti, Maria Constanza
Año de publicación
2014
Idioma
inglés
Tipo de recurso
artículo
Estado
versión publicada
Descripción
Three frozen bodies belonging to a young woman and two infants were found at an elevation of 6.715 meters (22,100 ft.) above sea level, on the summit of volcano Llullaillaco, in the Andes of northwestern Argentina. The mummies were discovered (and recovered for ulterior preservation and study) during scientific excavations codirected by the author of this paper at the highest archaeological site in the world. The mummies belonged to children that were sacrificed five hundred years ago, under the rule of the Inca Empire, as part of a state-controlled ceremony known as capacocha. According to the historical sources written during the Hispanic conquest, the Inca human sacrifices were performed in response to natural catastrophes, the death of the Inca emperor, or to propitiate the mountain spirits that grant fertility. The selected children and the young acllas or “chosen women” were taken in processions to the highest summits of the Andes to be sacrificed. They were believed to become messengers into the world of the mountain deities and the spirits of the ancestors. Numerous interdisciplinary studies were conducted on the frozen mummies between 1999 and 2004, a time span during which the “Llullaillaco children” were preserved at the Catholic University of Salta (UCASAL). These studies included radiological evaluations by conventional X-rays and CT scans, which provided information about condition and pathology of the bones and internal organs; as well as dental studies oriented to the estimation of the ages of the three children at the time of death. Ancient DNA studies and hair analysis were also performed in cooperation with academic institutions in the United States and Europe, including the Institute of Bioscience at the George Mason University, the University of Bradford and the Laboratory of Biological Anthropology at the University of Copenhagen. In this paper we focus on the frozen bodies of mount Llullaillaco as objects for bioarchaeological and medical research, providing an overview on the paleopathology of the mummies that are among the best preserved known to date.
Fil: Ceruti, Maria Constanza. Universidad Católica de Salta. Instituto de Investigaciones de Alta Montaña; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentina
Materia
Mummies
Paleopathology
Sacrifice
Inca Empire
Mount Llullaillaco
Nivel de accesibilidad
acceso abierto
Condiciones de uso
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/2.5/ar/
Repositorio
CONICET Digital (CONICET)
Institución
Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas
OAI Identificador
oai:ri.conicet.gov.ar:11336/12384

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spelling Overview of the Inca frozen mummies from Mount Lullaillaco (Argentina)Ceruti, Maria ConstanzaMummiesPaleopathologySacrificeInca EmpireMount Llullaillacohttps://purl.org/becyt/ford/6.1https://purl.org/becyt/ford/6Three frozen bodies belonging to a young woman and two infants were found at an elevation of 6.715 meters (22,100 ft.) above sea level, on the summit of volcano Llullaillaco, in the Andes of northwestern Argentina. The mummies were discovered (and recovered for ulterior preservation and study) during scientific excavations codirected by the author of this paper at the highest archaeological site in the world. The mummies belonged to children that were sacrificed five hundred years ago, under the rule of the Inca Empire, as part of a state-controlled ceremony known as capacocha. According to the historical sources written during the Hispanic conquest, the Inca human sacrifices were performed in response to natural catastrophes, the death of the Inca emperor, or to propitiate the mountain spirits that grant fertility. The selected children and the young acllas or “chosen women” were taken in processions to the highest summits of the Andes to be sacrificed. They were believed to become messengers into the world of the mountain deities and the spirits of the ancestors. Numerous interdisciplinary studies were conducted on the frozen mummies between 1999 and 2004, a time span during which the “Llullaillaco children” were preserved at the Catholic University of Salta (UCASAL). These studies included radiological evaluations by conventional X-rays and CT scans, which provided information about condition and pathology of the bones and internal organs; as well as dental studies oriented to the estimation of the ages of the three children at the time of death. Ancient DNA studies and hair analysis were also performed in cooperation with academic institutions in the United States and Europe, including the Institute of Bioscience at the George Mason University, the University of Bradford and the Laboratory of Biological Anthropology at the University of Copenhagen. In this paper we focus on the frozen bodies of mount Llullaillaco as objects for bioarchaeological and medical research, providing an overview on the paleopathology of the mummies that are among the best preserved known to date.Fil: Ceruti, Maria Constanza. Universidad Católica de Salta. Instituto de Investigaciones de Alta Montaña; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; ArgentinaEquinox Publishing2014-01info:eu-repo/semantics/articleinfo:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersionhttp://purl.org/coar/resource_type/c_6501info:ar-repo/semantics/articuloapplication/pdfapplication/pdfhttp://hdl.handle.net/11336/12384Ceruti, Maria Constanza; Overview of the Inca frozen mummies from Mount Lullaillaco (Argentina); Equinox Publishing; Journal of Glacial Archaeology; 1; 1; 1-2014; 79-972050-33932050-3407enginfo:eu-repo/semantics/altIdentifier/url/http://dx.doi.org/10.1558/jga.v1i1.79info:eu-repo/semantics/altIdentifier/url/https://journals.equinoxpub.com/index.php/JGA/article/view/16639info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccesshttps://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/2.5/ar/reponame:CONICET Digital (CONICET)instname:Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas2025-09-03T10:09:17Zoai:ri.conicet.gov.ar:11336/12384instacron:CONICETInstitucionalhttp://ri.conicet.gov.ar/Organismo científico-tecnológicoNo correspondehttp://ri.conicet.gov.ar/oai/requestdasensio@conicet.gov.ar; lcarlino@conicet.gov.arArgentinaNo correspondeNo correspondeNo correspondeopendoar:34982025-09-03 10:09:17.726CONICET Digital (CONICET) - Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicasfalse
dc.title.none.fl_str_mv Overview of the Inca frozen mummies from Mount Lullaillaco (Argentina)
title Overview of the Inca frozen mummies from Mount Lullaillaco (Argentina)
spellingShingle Overview of the Inca frozen mummies from Mount Lullaillaco (Argentina)
Ceruti, Maria Constanza
Mummies
Paleopathology
Sacrifice
Inca Empire
Mount Llullaillaco
title_short Overview of the Inca frozen mummies from Mount Lullaillaco (Argentina)
title_full Overview of the Inca frozen mummies from Mount Lullaillaco (Argentina)
title_fullStr Overview of the Inca frozen mummies from Mount Lullaillaco (Argentina)
title_full_unstemmed Overview of the Inca frozen mummies from Mount Lullaillaco (Argentina)
title_sort Overview of the Inca frozen mummies from Mount Lullaillaco (Argentina)
dc.creator.none.fl_str_mv Ceruti, Maria Constanza
author Ceruti, Maria Constanza
author_facet Ceruti, Maria Constanza
author_role author
dc.subject.none.fl_str_mv Mummies
Paleopathology
Sacrifice
Inca Empire
Mount Llullaillaco
topic Mummies
Paleopathology
Sacrifice
Inca Empire
Mount Llullaillaco
purl_subject.fl_str_mv https://purl.org/becyt/ford/6.1
https://purl.org/becyt/ford/6
dc.description.none.fl_txt_mv Three frozen bodies belonging to a young woman and two infants were found at an elevation of 6.715 meters (22,100 ft.) above sea level, on the summit of volcano Llullaillaco, in the Andes of northwestern Argentina. The mummies were discovered (and recovered for ulterior preservation and study) during scientific excavations codirected by the author of this paper at the highest archaeological site in the world. The mummies belonged to children that were sacrificed five hundred years ago, under the rule of the Inca Empire, as part of a state-controlled ceremony known as capacocha. According to the historical sources written during the Hispanic conquest, the Inca human sacrifices were performed in response to natural catastrophes, the death of the Inca emperor, or to propitiate the mountain spirits that grant fertility. The selected children and the young acllas or “chosen women” were taken in processions to the highest summits of the Andes to be sacrificed. They were believed to become messengers into the world of the mountain deities and the spirits of the ancestors. Numerous interdisciplinary studies were conducted on the frozen mummies between 1999 and 2004, a time span during which the “Llullaillaco children” were preserved at the Catholic University of Salta (UCASAL). These studies included radiological evaluations by conventional X-rays and CT scans, which provided information about condition and pathology of the bones and internal organs; as well as dental studies oriented to the estimation of the ages of the three children at the time of death. Ancient DNA studies and hair analysis were also performed in cooperation with academic institutions in the United States and Europe, including the Institute of Bioscience at the George Mason University, the University of Bradford and the Laboratory of Biological Anthropology at the University of Copenhagen. In this paper we focus on the frozen bodies of mount Llullaillaco as objects for bioarchaeological and medical research, providing an overview on the paleopathology of the mummies that are among the best preserved known to date.
Fil: Ceruti, Maria Constanza. Universidad Católica de Salta. Instituto de Investigaciones de Alta Montaña; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentina
description Three frozen bodies belonging to a young woman and two infants were found at an elevation of 6.715 meters (22,100 ft.) above sea level, on the summit of volcano Llullaillaco, in the Andes of northwestern Argentina. The mummies were discovered (and recovered for ulterior preservation and study) during scientific excavations codirected by the author of this paper at the highest archaeological site in the world. The mummies belonged to children that were sacrificed five hundred years ago, under the rule of the Inca Empire, as part of a state-controlled ceremony known as capacocha. According to the historical sources written during the Hispanic conquest, the Inca human sacrifices were performed in response to natural catastrophes, the death of the Inca emperor, or to propitiate the mountain spirits that grant fertility. The selected children and the young acllas or “chosen women” were taken in processions to the highest summits of the Andes to be sacrificed. They were believed to become messengers into the world of the mountain deities and the spirits of the ancestors. Numerous interdisciplinary studies were conducted on the frozen mummies between 1999 and 2004, a time span during which the “Llullaillaco children” were preserved at the Catholic University of Salta (UCASAL). These studies included radiological evaluations by conventional X-rays and CT scans, which provided information about condition and pathology of the bones and internal organs; as well as dental studies oriented to the estimation of the ages of the three children at the time of death. Ancient DNA studies and hair analysis were also performed in cooperation with academic institutions in the United States and Europe, including the Institute of Bioscience at the George Mason University, the University of Bradford and the Laboratory of Biological Anthropology at the University of Copenhagen. In this paper we focus on the frozen bodies of mount Llullaillaco as objects for bioarchaeological and medical research, providing an overview on the paleopathology of the mummies that are among the best preserved known to date.
publishDate 2014
dc.date.none.fl_str_mv 2014-01
dc.type.none.fl_str_mv info:eu-repo/semantics/article
info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion
http://purl.org/coar/resource_type/c_6501
info:ar-repo/semantics/articulo
format article
status_str publishedVersion
dc.identifier.none.fl_str_mv http://hdl.handle.net/11336/12384
Ceruti, Maria Constanza; Overview of the Inca frozen mummies from Mount Lullaillaco (Argentina); Equinox Publishing; Journal of Glacial Archaeology; 1; 1; 1-2014; 79-97
2050-3393
2050-3407
url http://hdl.handle.net/11336/12384
identifier_str_mv Ceruti, Maria Constanza; Overview of the Inca frozen mummies from Mount Lullaillaco (Argentina); Equinox Publishing; Journal of Glacial Archaeology; 1; 1; 1-2014; 79-97
2050-3393
2050-3407
dc.language.none.fl_str_mv eng
language eng
dc.relation.none.fl_str_mv info:eu-repo/semantics/altIdentifier/url/http://dx.doi.org/10.1558/jga.v1i1.79
info:eu-repo/semantics/altIdentifier/url/https://journals.equinoxpub.com/index.php/JGA/article/view/16639
dc.rights.none.fl_str_mv info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/2.5/ar/
eu_rights_str_mv openAccess
rights_invalid_str_mv https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/2.5/ar/
dc.format.none.fl_str_mv application/pdf
application/pdf
dc.publisher.none.fl_str_mv Equinox Publishing
publisher.none.fl_str_mv Equinox Publishing
dc.source.none.fl_str_mv reponame:CONICET Digital (CONICET)
instname:Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas
reponame_str CONICET Digital (CONICET)
collection CONICET Digital (CONICET)
instname_str Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas
repository.name.fl_str_mv CONICET Digital (CONICET) - Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas
repository.mail.fl_str_mv dasensio@conicet.gov.ar; lcarlino@conicet.gov.ar
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