Photo: Tunic and sandals from Inca mummy

Inca Child Sacrifice, Cerro Llullaillaco, Argentina, 1999

Photograph by Maria Stenzel

Five centuries after Inca priests sacrificed this boy and two other children on a peak called Cerro Llullaillaco in Argentina, archaeologists found them frozen to near perfection, accompanied by breathtaking artifacts and textiles.

Richly wrapped Inca child sacrifices were more than just gifts to the gods. They were ambassadors, sometimes volunteered by their families, sometimes taken from them. This boy, perhaps eight years old, wore a tunic big enough to grow into and carried extra sandals for his journey into the next world.

(Text adapted from, and photo shot on assignment for, but not published in, "Frozen in Time," November 1999, National Geographic magazine)

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