History

In 1999, archaeologists found three mummified Inca children, including a teenage girl they named La Doncella, and two younger children of around six and seven years old. Numerous studies over the years have shown that the children were fed rich foods and even given alcohol and coca before being led to a shrine near the summit of the volcano. They were eventually left to die in a ritual known as capacoha. Despite the extraordinary preservation of the mummies, pinning down exactly when they died remains very difficult, with earlier radiocarbon testing of their hair samples placing their deaths between 1430 and 1520. Ritually Sacrificed Inca Kids Fed “Soothing” Coca and Caapi Cocktails Dressed to Kill: The Vibrant Textiles Adorning these