Llullaillaco Children: The Inca Capacocha Mummies

The Llullaillaco children are three Inca children who were left as offerings near the summit of Llullaillaco, a 6,739-metre volcano on the border of Argentina and Chile, around 1500. Discovered in March 1999, they are among the best-preserved human remains ever found. They provide the most detailed evidence yet of capacocha, an Inca state ritual involving child sacrifice.

Background: the Inca and sacred mountains

By the late 15th century the Inca Empire, expanded under rulers such as Pachacuti and Topa Inca Yupanqui, stretched along the Andes from modern Ecuador to central Chile and northwestern Argentina. Mountains were sacred to the Andean peoples. Many peaks were seen as powerful beings (apus) linked to water, weather and fertility.

The Inca built shrines on dozens of high summits, many above 5,000 metres. Llullaillaco, one of the highest active volcanoes in the world, has the highest known archaeological site on Earth.

What was the capacocha?

Capacocha (also written qhapaq hucha) was a state ceremony. Children, often from noble or local elite families, were chosen for their perfection and sent to Cusco, the Inca capital, sometimes from distant provinces. There they took part in ceremonies before travelling back out along the Inca road system to the place of sacrifice.

The ritual tied the provinces to the centre of the empire and honoured the gods and the Inca ruler. Spanish chroniclers recorded that capacocha could be performed at the death or accession of an Inca ruler, during crises such as famine, or at major festivals.

The discovery of 1999

In March 1999 an expedition led by the anthropologist Johan Reinhard and the Argentine archaeologist Constanza Ceruti excavated a ceremonial platform just below the summit. They found three children buried in separate shafts roughly 1.5 to 2 metres deep, together with more than a hundred offerings.

The oldest, a girl of about 13 to 15 years, is known as La Doncella (the Maiden). A boy of about 4 to 7 years is known as El Niño (the Boy). A girl of a similar age is known as La Niña del Rayo (the Lightning Girl), because lightning struck her body at some time after burial, partly burning it.

The offerings included textiles, pottery, gold, silver and shell figurines, feather headdresses and food. Many of these objects were in the Inca imperial style.

What science revealed

Because the bodies froze naturally, their organs, skin, hair and even blood vessels survived. CT scans and other non-invasive studies showed no clear signs of violent injury. Researchers think the children most likely died of exposure while sedated, although the exact cause of death is still discussed.

Hair grows at a steady rate, so it records chemical changes over time. Studies published in 2007 and 2013 found that the children’s diets improved in the last year of their lives, with more maize and meat, a sign of changing status. The 2013 study also found rising levels of coca and alcohol, especially in the Maiden during her final weeks.

Building a shrine at 6,700 metres

Reaching the summit of Llullaillaco was itself a major feat. The Inca built a route up the mountain with stone structures and way stations, including buildings near the base and further shelters on the slopes, so that priests, workers and the children could make the ascent in stages.

Near the top, workers levelled a ceremonial platform and dug the burial shafts into frozen ground. The effort shows how much labour and planning the state was willing to invest in a single ritual. It also shows that Inca people could live and work for days at altitudes where modern climbers often suffer serious altitude sickness.

Other capacocha finds

The Llullaillaco children are not the only such discovery. In 1995 Reinhard and Miguel Zárate found a frozen Inca girl, often called Juanita or the Ice Maiden, on Mount Ampato in southern Peru. A boy was found on Cerro El Plomo in Chile in 1954, and other remains have come from Aconcagua and other peaks. Together these finds show that the ritual was practised across much of the empire.

Ethics and display

The children were taken to the Museum of High Altitude Archaeology (MAAM) in Salta, Argentina, where they are kept in special freezing cases that control temperature and humidity. Usually only one child is displayed at a time.

Some Indigenous groups and others objected to the removal and display of the bodies. The debate continues, and the museum presents the children with explanation about the culture that buried them.

Timeline

• c. 1438–1471: Pachacuti greatly expands the Inca state, by commonly cited dates.
• Late 15th century: The Inca conquer northwestern Argentina and central Chile.
• c. 1500: The three children are buried near the summit of Llullaillaco.
• 1532: The Spanish arrive and begin the conquest of the Inca Empire.
• March 1999: Reinhard and Ceruti’s expedition finds the three children.
• 2007: A study of their hair reveals diet changes in their last year.
• 2013: A further study reports rising coca and alcohol use before death.

Why it matters

The Llullaillaco children turned written descriptions of capacocha into direct physical evidence. They show the reach of the Inca state, the importance of sacred mountains and the long ritual process behind the sacrifices, while raising lasting questions about how human remains should be studied and displayed.