Peruvian Ice Maiden
The Peruvian Ice Maiden, also known as Momia Juanita or the Lady of Ampato, is the remarkably well-preserved mummy of a young adolescent girl discovered on September 8, 1995, atop Mount Ampato in Peru. Estimated to be about fourteen years old at the time of her death, she is believed to have been a human sacrifice around 550 years ago, a practice linked to Inca religious rituals. The mummy's exceptional condition resulted from the freezing temperatures and dry air of the high-altitude burial site, allowing for the preservation of DNA and internal organs. Archaeologist Johan Reinhard and his colleague Miguel Zarate found her remains after the site was inadvertently revealed due to volcanic activity nearby.
Significantly, the Ice Maiden's burial location had remained undisturbed by looters, providing valuable insights into Inca culture through artifacts found alongside her, including gold and silver statues believed to be offerings to the gods. After her discovery, the mummy was exhibited internationally, attracting attention and criticism, particularly from native Peruvian politicians. Scientific investigations have revealed her ancestry linked to various populations, including the Ngöbe people of Panama, and highlighted her good health at the time of death. Currently housed in a museum in Arequipa, Peru, the Ice Maiden faces preservation challenges due to humidity, prompting ongoing research and conservation efforts. Recent advancements have even allowed for the reconstruction of her facial features, enhancing understanding of her appearance and heritage.
Subject Terms
Peruvian Ice Maiden
DATE: Remains discovered on September 8, 1995
THE EVENT: Archaeologists discovered the mummy of a fully clothed young adolescent girl frozen atop 20,700-foot Mount Ampato in Peru. Investigation revealed that the girl, who became known as the Peruvian Ice Maiden, was about fourteen years old when she died, probably as the result of a human sacrifice about 550 years earlier.
SIGNIFICANCE: At the time the remains were discovered, the Ice Maiden was the best-preserved mummy ever found. Although the body had not been intentionally mummified, the low temperatures and dry, thin air on the mountain had created a mummy. Because the remains were frozen rather than dried, the DNA in the body was well preserved.
Archaeologist Johan Reinhard climbed Mount Ampato, in the Andes of Peru, to get a better view of an active volcano nearby—Mount Nevado Sabancaya. The heat from the volcanic eruption, which had begun in 1990, had cleared some of the snowpack from nearby mountains, including Mount Ampato. As Reinhard and his associate Miguel Zarate neared the summit, they saw some feathers that turned out to be part of the clothing on the mummified remains of a child who had died atop the mountain more than five centuries earlier. The body’s burial site had been disturbed by the snow melting caused by the nearby volcano. Reinhard and Zarate carried the eighty-pound mummy down the mountain on their backs at night, when the temperatures were lowest, to keep the frozen body from melting. It was then loaded onto the back of a mule for further transport, with sufficient padding between the mule and the frozen mummy to protect the mummy from the animal’s body heat.
Importance of the Discovery
Also known as Momia Juanita (Mummy Juanita in Spanish) and the Lady of Ampato, the Ice Maiden was such a significant discovery that Time magazine called the event one of the ten greatest scientific discoveries of the year. In addition to the remarkable condition of the body, the burial site itself had never been touched by looters, and the gold and silver statues found there provided archaeologists with information on traditional Inca religious rituals. Because the body was accompanied by many items believed to have been offerings to the gods, experts hypothesized that the girl had herself been a sacrificial offering. Two other children’s bodies were later found near the site where the Ice Maiden’s remains were found.
Amid criticism from a number of native Peruvian politicians, the mummy was temporarily moved to the United States in early 1996, where it was exhibited at the National Geographic Society headquarters in Washington, DC. President Bill Clinton was one of those who viewed the body. In 1999, the mummy visited Japan, where it was viewed by thousands.
The Ice Maiden was the best-preserved mummy in the world until 1999, when another Reinhard-led expedition found three other frozen mummies on a mountain in Argentina. The Argentine mummies still had blood in their lungs and hearts—something that was not the case with the Ice Maiden.
The Forensic Investigation
Because the Ice Maiden’s mitochondrial DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid) was well preserved, scientists were able to use genetic information provided by the Human Genome Project to learn that the girl had shared ancestry with the Ngöbe people of Panama, with old Taiwanese and Korean peoples, and with Native Americans. The mummification had also preserved the internal organs well enough that several biological tests were possible, with the result that new insights were gained into nutrition and health among the Inca during the fifteenth century. While the mummy was in the United States, it was taken to Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore, Maryland, where a virtual was performed, and additional scientific tests were conducted in Peru. It was found that the Ice Maiden had a well-balanced diet, strong bones, and good teeth. In general, she was in excellent health. She died from to her head.
The Ice Maiden is housed in a museum at the Universidad Católica de Santa María in the Andean city of Arequipa, Peru. In 2006, Peru’s leading newspaper reported that the Ice Maiden was at risk from humidity, as dampness had gotten into the glass-enclosed refrigeration compartment where the mummy is stored. The temperature is kept at about -19 degrees Celsius (-2 degrees Fahrenheit). Peruvian authorities were informed that the mummy could deteriorate within five years unless the dampness problem could be solved. Changes in the mummy’s skin color have been noted—a sign that storage conditions have not been optimal. Other, more recently discovered, frozen mummies are also kept at the same museum.
In late 2023, researchers successfully reconstructed the Ice Maiden's face using a replica of the mummy's skull, computed tomography (CT) scans of her remains, measurements of her skull, and DNA analysis. Their effort revealed that the Ice Maiden probably had tanned skin, black eyes, and pronounced cheek bones.
Bibliography
Bahn, Paul. Written in Bones: How Human Remains Unlock the Secrets of the Dead. Buffalo, N.Y.: Firefly Books, 2003.
Chamberlain, Andrew T., and Michael Parker Pearson. Earthly Remains: The History and Science of Preserved Human Bodies. New York: Oxford University Press, 2001.
Cockburn, Aidan, Eve Cockburn, and Theodore A. Reyman, eds. Mummies, Disease, and Ancient Cultures. 2d ed. New York: Cambridge University Press, 1998.
Pringle, Heather. The Mummy Congress: Science, Obsession, and the Everlasting Dead. New York: Hyperion, 2001.
Reinhard, Johan. Discovering the Inca Ice Maiden. Washington, D.C.: National Geographic Society, 1998.
Sankaran, Vishwam. "Archeologists Reconstruct Face of Incan 'Ice Maiden' Mummy Killed in Ritual Sacrifice." Independent, 9 Nov. 2023, www.independent.co.uk/news/science/archaeology/juanita-inca-ice-maiden-peru-mummy-face-reconstruction-b2444380.html. Accessed 16 Aug. 2024.
Strickland, Ashley. "A Young Woman Was Sacrificed and Frozen for 500 Years in the Andes. Scientists Just Revealed Her Face." CNN, 3 Nov. 2023, www.cnn.com/2023/11/03/world/ice-maiden-juanita-facial-reconstruction-scn/index.html. Accessed 16 Aug. 2024.
‗‗‗‗‗‗‗. The Ice Maiden: Inca Mummies, Mountain Gods, and Sacred Sites in the Andes. Washington, D.C.: National Geographic Society, 2006.