Scientists unveil recreation of 500-year old sacrificial Incan girl in Peru

Archaeologists have recreated a young Incan girl who was sacrificed to gods 500 years ago in Peru. The head and torso of the girl were unveiled on Tuesday. The lifelike reconstructed body of the Incan girl was produced with the help of a three-dimensional scan of her mummy.

The recreation was produced by scientists from Peru and Poland with the help of digital scans of her well-preserved mummy. Her mummy was found in 1995 inside an Inca-era funerary bundle near the summit of the Ampato volcano outside Arequipa, in Peru’s south.

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Inca Empire

The Inca Empire or civilisation flourished off western South America along the Pacific coast and Andean highlands. It was the largest empire in pre-Columbian America. The administrative, political and military centre of the empire city was in the Cusco city. The civilisation rose from the Peruvian highlands sometime in the early 13th century.

The empire saw a rich and powerful expanse until it fell to Spanish invaders in 1532.

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The Incan girl recreated was supposedly the girl who was sacrificed by a blow to the head, possibly in a ritual ceremony that sought divine relief from natural disasters, as per the scientists.

Recreation of 500-year-old Incan girl

The recreation is known to be the Lady of Ampato, or simple Juanita and she was believed to be either 14 or 15 years old.

The reconstruction is now on display at the Catholic University of Santa Maria in Arequipa. It shows her mouth slightly open and dark with piercing eyes gazing into the distance. It also includes colourful attire, a head covering and adornment, similar to scans of the mummy.

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"It's been done in a magnificent way," said archaeologist Johan Reinhard, who was part of the team that found the mummy. It also said that the reconstruction was especially striking since her face had been exposed to the elements and as a result was not well preserved.

"Seeing her face like when she was alive, it's a different experience because it seems so real," he said.

(With inputs from agencies)

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