: Analysis of her hair reveals her diet shifted from peasant staples like potatoes to "elite" foods like maize and llama meat about a year before her death.
(The Maiden) is one of the most remarkably preserved mummies ever discovered, a 15-year-old Inca girl frozen for over 500 years. Found in 1999 near the summit of the Llullaillaco volcano on the Argentina-Chile border, she was part of the three "Children of Llullaillaco" sacrificed in a sacred ritual known as capacocha . The Ritual: A Journey to the Divine
: She was found in a cross-legged position, wearing a ceremonial tunic and an elaborate feathered headdress, surrounded by gold and silver statues. Where to See Her La Doncella
La Doncella was likely an aclla (Sun Virgin), chosen for her beauty and purity to serve as a messenger to the gods.
Today, La Doncella and the other two children are kept at the Museum of High Altitude Archaeology (MAAM) in . : Analysis of her hair reveals her diet
Unlike Egyptian mummies, La Doncella was not embalmed; she was naturally "flash-frozen" by the extreme altitude and frigid, arid climate.
: Her body was so well-preserved that her skin, hair, and even internal organs remained intact. The Ritual: A Journey to the Divine :
: In her final months and hours, she was given large amounts of coca leaves and chicha (maize beer). This induced a stupor, allowing her to drift into a permanent sleep in her mountaintop tomb without a struggle.