NOVA Online | Ice Mummies of the Inca | Digging in Thin Air (4)

Digging in Thin Air
Part 4 (back to Part 3)

Is It a Mummy?
Jose Luis of Quilcata was the first to discern a face in the dirt. It took a moment to recognize, and then it was clear that a human sacrifice had been found. The skull of a child peered at us through the mud. Then the smell of human decay set in. Accompanying the child in its journey to the Other World are 3 statuettes and a bundle of coca leaves. The entire body is wrapped in textiles and underneath Johan believes they will find mostly bones. The body is determinedly female as she wears a shawl pin. "My guess is that she's 7 or 8 given her small skull size," says Johan. She sits in a fetal position with her knees drawn up close to her torso. Pieces of hair can be seen on the top of her head and the outer textile is a beautiful black and white striped shawl.

wrapped body

Because the body was found in unfrozen earth, buried on the exposed eastern side of Sara Sara, she has decomposed over the years, about 500 to be exact. Johan, however, still remains optimistic that there's another mummy, perhaps several, preserved in the deep frozen tombs of stone and ice on Sara Sara. But the problem is that they could be anywhere: "It's strange, most of the human sacrifices we've found have been non-descript—just a circle of stones and a body underneath."

wrapped body

The body is moved out of its exposed site and carried to the southern face of Sara Sara where there is permanent snow pack. Shovels appear and the new discovery is buried in snow. Tonight water will be poured on her so she will freeze completely, making her easier to carry off the mountain.

A large snow squall sets in and all work is abandoned. Lightning can be seen in the distance and I follow Johan to lower ground. "Sara Sara's summit would be a likely target for lightning and I've had too many close calls," says Johan. Jose Antonio, Walter, and the others huddle under an overhanging rock face. "They've had their hair singed by lightning before," yells Johan as he hoofs it down the slope in front of me. What is the meaning of that, I wonder, if weather is controlled by the mountain deities.... But perhaps it's not the best time to start asking questions.

The excavation continues. Will Johan find another mummy before the looters do?

The Ascent | Digging in Thin Air | The Mummy's Journey | Preserving the Past

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