Juanita, Ice Maiden

Who Is Juanita?

Juanita the Ice Maiden is a mummy kept in The Universidad Católica De Santa Maria. She is a natural mummy, as in, not mummified like most royalty, but frozen on the summit of the Volcano Ampato. When she was found, her body was wrapped in blankets, very well preserved. Her face was exposed to the sun, the reason of her discolored skin.

Juanita before being unwrapped

She was frozen, as you have heard before, and so the archaeologists in the Universidad needed to thaw her before unwrapping or they would be putting her in danger of being destroyed. The reason she was able to be found was that the volcano she was found on was erupting, so the ice she was preserved in for so long, was melted enough that she thawed, so the scientists were able to find her. After unwrapping her they found that all her clothes were perfectly preserved. Now, thanks to Juanita, the scientists studying the Inca culture can find out more.

The Mummy Juanita

How Was She Sacrificed?

At this time, there is still one mystery. How was Juanita sacrificed? Some people agreed that she died of exposure, due to the discolored facial skin, but after a MRI scan, they found out she died of a blow to the head. It knocked her out the moment it happened and she was dead approximately ten minutes after. She got a hemorrhage (bruise) and the blood pushed her brain to one side. As you can see in the picture below, her right eye ( On the left side of the picture) is drooping because the hemorrhage caused her eye to swell.

Juanita's eyes

DNA Scans

There is also DNA scans to find related kin. They first found the Ngobe people from Panama, but later scans showed her to be related to the people of the Andes mountains. Even more, she also shared genetic patterns of Ancient cultures from Taiwan and Korea.

Sacred Shells

In the Inca culture, spondylus seashells are very sacred. They are used to make small burial figures like Alpacas, Llamas and other camelids. Juanita was found with the figure on the left, and it was made with the shell on the right. The shells come when a hot water current and cold water current hit and create another current that pulls this shells to shore.

Sacred Seashells

Why Was Juanita Sacrificed?

When there is natural disasters for the Incas, they believed their gods were angry. To please them, they made sacrifices. Food or children, they believed it would please the gods. Juanita was likely to please the god of Mount Ampato because she was found on the summit. There were three other sacrifices on the mountain, two more girls, and one boy. These Incas are not recognized as much as Juanita, why? I don't know, but I wish I knew more.

What Did Juanita Eat As Her Last Meal?

Studies on Juanita's incredibly well preserved organs shows that she ate a meal of vegetables about 6-8 hours before her death, and she was told about a year before her death that she was to die, because her diet changed around then. On the hike to Ampato, her meals mostly consisted of Coca leaves and dried vegetables. Right before her death, she drank a Chicha beer, intended to make her not conscious of what was happening.

My Impressions Of Juanita

Juanita was small. I thought she was too small to be 12-15 years old. Daddy said it was because she was in the fetal position. I don't know. She lost a lot of weight on the hike only eating dried foods, but she looked unusually small. She was kept in a dark room with very dull lights, so she won't get hurt. When I saw that she was in the room, I made sure to not look at her until we got to her, as to not ruin the surprise. When I did, my mind was like "One bucket list item COMPLETE! ☑️". My current bucket list is:

☑️Choco Museo (See Chocolate Machu Picchu)

☑️Mummy (Maybe Juanita)

☑️Catacombs

☑️Dunkin' Doughnuts (Tim Hortins of New York)

☑️Statue Of Liberty

☑️Moray

▢Machu Picchu (Not going to be completed)

Well, until next time friends!

~Maija