Archaeologists have narrowed down the date of the ritual sacrifice of the famed Inca “Girl of Llullaillaco”, one of the world’s best-preserved mummies, to around AD 1499, providing fresh insights into the religious and political strategies of the expanding Inca Empire.
The findings, published in the journal Archaeometry, are the result of an international collaboration involving researchers from the University of Warsaw, the Silesian University of Technology, AGH University of Science and Technology, Cornell University, Argentina’s Museum of High Mountain Archaeology, and the National Geographic Society.
The Girl of Llullaillaco, also known as the Maiden of Llullaillaco, was discovered in 1999 alongside two other child mummies near the summit of Llullaillaco volcano on the modern border between Argentina and Chile. At nearly 6,700 metres above sea level, the site is considered the highest archaeological location in the world.
The children were victims of the Inca capacocha ceremony, a ritual sacrifice performed on sacred mountain peaks. According to Inca belief, the selected children acted as intermediaries between humans and the gods, helping to secure prosperity and stability throughout the empire.
Thanks to the extreme cold and arid conditions at the summit, the bodies have remained remarkably preserved for more than five centuries.
“These are the best-preserved mummies in the world and, at the same time, the highest archaeological site,” said Dr Dagmara Socha of the University of Warsaw, a specialist in Inca mummies. “The most famous of the child mummies is the so-called Girl of Llullaillaco.”
Previous radiocarbon dating placed the girl’s death sometime between AD 1430 and 1520, leaving a broad margin of uncertainty. To obtain a more precise date, researchers turned their attention not to the mummy itself but to organic materials buried with her, including maize, cassava and coca leaves.
The food offerings formed part of a rich assemblage of grave goods that also included textiles, pottery and miniature figurines.
“Because these plants would have been harvested relatively shortly before the ceremony, radiocarbon dating of the remains provides a more accurate estimate of the ritual itself than earlier analyses of the mummy,” explained Dr Dominika Sieczkowska-Jacyna of the Silesian University of Technology.
The results indicate that the sacrifice most likely occurred between AD 1462 and 1507, with AD 1499 emerging as the most probable date. The new analysis effectively reduces the chronological uncertainty from nearly ninety years to approximately forty-five years.
Researchers say the revised dating places the ceremony during the reign of either Topa Inca Yupanqui or his successor, Huayna Capac, a period marked by the Inca Empire’s greatest territorial expansion. At its height, the empire stretched from present-day Ecuador to central Chile and north-western Argentina.
“This is significant because it situates the offering within a period of intense imperial expansion and consolidation,” said Dr Sieczkowska-Jacyna. “The ritual at Llullaillaco may therefore have carried not only religious significance but also political importance, reinforcing Inca authority in newly incorporated regions.”
Although the researchers caution that the ceremony cannot yet be linked definitively to a specific ruler, the new chronology aligns with historical accounts describing Huayna Capac’s journeys through the southern provinces and the presentation of lavish offerings to the gods.
According to Dr Socha, the implications of the research extend well beyond a single archaeological discovery.
“The significance of this study goes beyond the case of the Maiden of Llullaillaco,” she said. “It demonstrates how combining new scientific methods can improve our understanding of Inca history and place these famous high-altitude sacrifices within the broader context of imperial administration and political strategy.”
The study highlights how advances in radiocarbon dating continue to refine the historical record, offering new perspectives on one of the most remarkable archaeological discoveries of the modern era.
Header Image Credit : Johan Reinhard
Sources : Archaeometry
