First Steps in the recovery and preservation of the frozen Inca mummies from volcano Llullaillaco (Northwestern Argentina)

CERUTI, MARÍA CONSTANZA

Nuuk, Groenlandia

Congreso; IV Congreso Mundial de Estudios de Momias; 2001

Greenland National Museum and Archives and Danish Polar Center

In this paper we will refer to the first steps taken in the recovery and conservation of the three frozen Inca bodies from Mount Llullaillaco, which can be considered a pioneer experience in the History of high-altitude archaeological research in Argentina. The importance of the scientific excavation of the three ancient bodies, and the procedures implemented for their preservation at the laboratory, will be analyzed in the context of previous findings of Inca mummies in the southern Andes, which due to natural and human causes could not be preserved in the optimum level of conservation that characterizes the Llullaillaco frozen mummies. The excavation of the frozen mummies from their tombs located at the highest archaeological site in the world was a challenging enterprise. So was the immediate preparation of a temporary laboratory and the implementation of periodic controls to supervise the preservation of the fragile bodies, particularly given the lack of previous experience with ancient frozen bodies in Northwestern Argentina. Interdisciplinary research was undertaken in the fields of Paleoradiology, dental studies, hair analysis, D.N.A. studies,  Paleopathology, Archaeology and Ethnohistory.