Editing Mummy (section)

==== Inca mummies ====
[[File:Llullaillaco mummies in Salta city, Argentina.jpg|thumb|250px|[[Children of Llullaillaco|Llullaillaco]] mummy in [[Salta Province]] ([[Argentina]]).]]
Several naturally-preserved, unintentional mummies dating from the [[Inca Empire|Incan]] period (1438–1532 AD) have been found in the colder regions of [[Argentina]], [[Chile]], and [[Peru]]. These are collectively known as "ice mummies".<ref name="Clark" /> The first Incan ice mummy was discovered in 1954 atop [[Cerro El Plomo|El Plomo Peak]] in Chile, after an eruption of the nearby volcano [[Sabancaya]] melted away ice that covered the body.<ref name="Clark">{{cite web |last=Clark |first=Liesl |title=Ice Mummies of the Inca |publisher=NOVA |date=24 November 1998 |url=https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/ancient/ice-mummies-inca.html |access-date=9 November 2013}}</ref> The [[Plomo Mummy|Mummy of El Plomo]] was a male child who was presumed to be wealthy due to his well-fed bodily characteristics. He was considered to be the most well-preserved ice mummy in the world until the discovery of Mummy Juanita in 1995.<ref name="Clark" />

[[Mummy Juanita]] was discovered near the summit of [[Ampato]] in the Peruvian section of the [[Andes]] mountains by archaeologist [[Johan Reinhard]].<ref name="Hall" /> Her body had been so thoroughly frozen that it had not been desiccated; much of her skin, muscle tissue, and internal organs retained their original structure.<ref name="Clark" /> She is believed to be a ritual sacrifice, due to the close proximity of her body to the Incan capital of [[Cusco]], as well as the fact she was wearing highly intricate clothing to indicate her special social status. Several Incan ceremonial artifacts and temporary shelters uncovered in the surrounding area seem to support this theory.<ref name="Clark" />

More evidence that the Inca left sacrificial victims to die in the elements, and later be unintentionally preserved, came in 1999 with the discovery of the [[Children of Llullaillaco|Llullaillaco mummies]] on the border of Argentina and Chile.<ref name="Hall">{{cite magazine |last=Hall |first=Yancey |title=Interview: "Inca Mummy Man" Johan Reinhard |magazine=National Geographic |date=28 October 2010 |url=http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2005/06/0621_050621_incamummy.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050624021528/http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2005/06/0621_050621_incamummy.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=24 June 2005 |access-date=9 November 2013}}</ref> The three mummies are children, two girls and one boy, who are thought to be sacrifices associated with the ancient ritual of ''[[qhapaq hucha]]''.<ref name="Handwerk">{{cite magazine |last=Handwerk |first=Brian |title=Inca Child Sacrifice Victims Were Drugged |magazine=National Geographic |date=29 July 2013 |url=https://www.nationalgeographic.com/?rptregcta=reg_free_np&rptregcampaign=20131016_rw_membership_r1p_us_se_w |access-date=9 November 2013}}</ref> Recent [[biochemistry|biochemical analysis]] of the mummies has revealed that the victims had consumed increasing quantities of [[alcohol (drug)|alcohol]] and [[coca]], possibly in the form of [[chicha]], in the months leading up to sacrifice.<ref name="Handwerk" /> The dominant theory for the drugging reasons that, alongside ritual uses, the substances probably made the children more docile. Chewed coca leaves found inside the eldest child's mouth upon her discovery in 1999 supports this theory.<ref name="Handwerk" />

The bodies of Inca emperors and wives were mummified after death. In 1533, the [[Spanish empire|Spanish]] [[conquistador]]s of the Inca Empire viewed the mummies in the Inca capital of Cuzco. The mummies were displayed, often in lifelike positions, in the palaces of the deceased emperors and had a retinue of servants to care for them. The Spanish were impressed with the quality of the mummification which involved removal of the organs, embalming, and freeze-drying.<ref name="Heaney"/>

The population revered the mummies of the Inca emperors. This reverence seemed idolatry to the [[Roman Catholic]] Spanish and in 1550 they confiscated the mummies. The mummies were taken to [[Lima]] where they were displayed in the San Andres Hospital. The mummies deteriorated in the humid climate of Lima and eventually they were either buried or destroyed by the Spanish.<ref>{{cite web |last1=McCaa |first1=Robert |last2=Nimlos |first2=Aleta |last3=Hampe Martinez |first3=Teodoro |title=Why Blame Smallpox |url=http://users.pop.umn.edu/~rmccaa/aha2004/why_blame_smallpox.pdf |date=27 January 2017 }}</ref><ref name="Pringle">{{cite web |last=Pringle |first=Harriet |title=Inca Empire |website=National Geographic |url=http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/2011/04/inca-empire/pringle-text/2 |url-status=dead |date=2011 |access-date=27 January 2017 |archive-date=26 January 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170126074244/http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/2011/04/inca-empire/pringle-text/2 }}</ref>

An attempt to find the mummies of the Inca emperors beneath the San Andres hospital in 2001 was unsuccessful. The archaeologists found a crypt, but it was empty. Possibly the mummies had been removed when the building was repaired after an earthquake.<ref name="Pringle"/>