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Sacrificed 'Maiden' on Display

Exhibit extremely popular, but some local tribes protest

By Colleen Barry,  Newser Staff

Posted Sep 8, 2007 3:39 PM CDT
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(Newser) – A girl once sacrificed to the gods is now on display in an Argentine museum, CNN reports. “La Doncella” (Spanish for “the Maiden”), displayed in an icy chamber, has the same calm gaze and gray shawl she wore when she died 500 years ago. Hundreds of visitors are coming daily to witness the girl who gave her life to an annual corn harvest.

Native groups waged a losing campaign to have her buried or kept away from the public; a representative of the tribes has called the display a "great mistake." The girl was found alongside a little boy and girl who are currently being analyzed. Experts say that the 3 were discovered at the highest elevation ever for sacrificed victims of the Inca empire.

The mummy La Doncella or The Maiden sits on display at the High Mountain Archeological Museum (MAAM) in Salta, Argentina, Thursday, Sept. 6, 2007. The Maiden, who is on display for the first time since her discovery in 1999, was approximately 15-years-old when she and her two children died as...
The mummy "La Doncella" or "The Maiden" sits on display at the High Mountain Archeological Museum (MAAM) in Salta, Argentina, Thursday, Sept. 6, 2007. "The Maiden," who is on display for the first time...   (Associated Press)
The mummy La Doncella or The Maiden sits on display at the High Mountain Archeological Museum (MAAM) in Salta, Argentina, Thursday, Sept. 6, 2007. The Maiden, who is on display for the first time since her discovery in 1999, was approximately 15-years-old when she and her two children died as...
The mummy "La Doncella" or "The Maiden" sits on display at the High Mountain Archeological Museum (MAAM) in Salta, Argentina, Thursday, Sept. 6, 2007. "The Maiden," who is on display for the first time...   (Associated Press)
The mummy La Doncella or The Maiden sits on display at the High Mountain Archeological Museum (MAAM) in Salta, Argentina, Thursday, Sept. 6, 2007. The Maiden, who is on display for the first time since her discovery in 1999, was approximately 15-years-old when she and two younger children died as...
The mummy "La Doncella" or "The Maiden" sits on display at the High Mountain Archeological Museum (MAAM) in Salta, Argentina, Thursday, Sept. 6, 2007. "The Maiden," who is on display for the first time...   (Associated Press)
People look at the mummy La Doncella or The Maiden at the High Mountain Archeological Museum (MAAM) in Salta, Argentina, Thursday, Sept. 6, 2007. The Maiden, who is on display for the first time since her discovery in 1999, was approximately 15-years-old when she and two younger children died as...
People look at the mummy "La Doncella" or "The Maiden" at the High Mountain Archeological Museum (MAAM) in Salta, Argentina, Thursday, Sept. 6, 2007. "The Maiden," who is on display for the first time...   (Associated Press)
People look at the mummy La Doncella or The Maiden in the High Mountain Archeological Museum (MAAM) in Salta, Argentina, Thursday, Sept. 6, 2007. The Maiden, who is on display for the first time since her discovery in 1999, was approximately 15-years-old when she and two younger children died as...
People look at the mummy "La Doncella" or "The Maiden" in the High Mountain Archeological Museum (MAAM) in Salta, Argentina, Thursday, Sept. 6, 2007. "The Maiden," who is on display for the first time...   (Associated Press)
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Visitor: 'You just expect her at any moment to get up and start talking'
BBC

Inca tribes say display dishonors the dead
Guardian (UK)

Museum's website
Museum of High Altitude Archaeology

 
Andes • Argentina • Empires • Indian Tribes • Native Groups • Inca • La Doncella

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