Frozen mummies of sacrificed Incas found in Peru

CNN 30 September 1998 Frozen mummies of sacrificed Incas found in Peru

                 AREQUIPA, Peru (Reuters) -- A group of preserved frozen mummies
                  sacrificed to the Inca gods 500 years ago has been discovered on top of a
                  snow-clad volcano in Peru's southern Andes, archeologists said
                  Wednesday.

                  The unearthing of the six mummies, wrapped in alpaca wool and surrounded
                  by silver and gold figures, is one of the biggest finds in a mountainous region
                  that over the last few years has revealed a treasure-trove of well-preserved
                  Inca corpses.

                  "They are six mummies which were found near the crater of the Misti
                  (volcano). This is the mountain which features the greatest number of human
                  offerings in the world," Ruth Salas, head of the archeological program, told
                  Reuters.

                  The find in the crater of the 19,096-foot volcano by U.S. archeologist Johan
                  Reinhard and Peruvian Jose Chavez comes after the same scientists
                  discovered in 1995 the first so-called "ice maiden" on a nearby mountain
                  close to the southern city of Arequipa.

                  That mummy, also wrapped in fine alpaca wool and nicknamed "Juanita" and
                  "The Lady of Ampato," drew thousands at exhibitions in the United States in
                  1996.

                  The vast Inca empire, with its advanced culture and powerful armies,
                  spanned most of the Andes along South America's western coast at the time
                  of Spanish conquest in the early 16th century.

                  The discovery of the Inca "ice women" -- believed to have been sacrifices to
                  the Incas' mountain gods -- has brought comparisons with the 1991 find in
                  the European Alps of a 5,000- year-old frozen corpse dubbed the "iceman."

                  Although many "dry" Inca mummies have been found in the Andean region,
                  these frozen ones are expected to reveal unique information about Inca
                  lifestyle.