Mummy Juanita: The Sacrifice of the Inca Ice Maiden

Momia Juanita (‘Mummy Juanita’) is the name given to the mummy of a 15th century Incan girl who was discovered in Peru in 1995. She is known also as the ‘Lady of Ampato’, and the ‘Inca Ice Maiden’, the first because she was found on the top of Mount Ampato, a dormant volcano in the Andes, and the second because her body was preserved due to the frigid temperatures on top of that mountain.

Researchers have suggested that Mummy Juanita was a victim of an important Incan sacrificial rite known as Capacocha (Capac Cocha), which has sometimes been translated as ‘royal obligation’. Scientific analyses of Momia Juanita have also revealed various interesting details about her life and death.

Mummy Juanita before unwrapping her body. (Fair Use)

Discovering Mummy Juanita

The discovery of Momia Juanita was made on September 8, 1995 by the archaeologist Johan Reinhard, and Miguel Zarate, his assistant. This find was made possible thanks to the melting of Mount Ampato’s snowcap, which was caused by volcanic ash that came from the eruption of a nearby volcano. As a result of this melting, the mummy was exposed, and tumbled down the mountainside, where it was subsequently found by Reinhard and Zarate. During a second expedition up the mountain in October of the same year, the frozen mummies of two more individuals were uncovered in a lower area of Mount Ampato.