Children of Llullaillaco

The Children of Llullaillaco^[1] (Spanish: [(ɟ)ʝuʝajˈʝako]), also known as the Mummies of Llullaillaco, are three Inca child mummies discovered on 16 March 1999 by Johan Reinhard and his archaeological team near the summit of Llullaillaco, a 6,739 m (22,110 ft) stratovolcano^[2] on the Argentina–Chile border. The children were sacrificed in an Inca religious ritual that took place around the year 1500. In this ritual, the three children were drugged with coca and alcohol^[3] then placed inside a small chamber 1.5 metres (5 ft) beneath the ground, where they were left to die.^[4] Archaeologists consider them as being among the best-preserved mummies in the world.^[5][6][7]

On 20 June 2001, Argentina's National Commission of Museums, Monuments and Historic Places declared the Children of Llullaillaco to be National Historic Property of Argentina.^[1] Since 2007 the mummies have been on exhibition in the Museum of High Altitude Archaeology in the Argentine city of Salta.