She was a teenager sacrificed to appease the mountain deities believed to control the weather that could bring famine or plenty to her Inca community. If a rockslide triggered by ash from a nearby volcano hadnt exposed her to the elements, the details of her sacrifice 500 years ago might have remained unknown.
But her discovery created other problems. Without mechanical refrigeration to replace the freezing temperatures of her Andes burial site, her well preserved body would quickly decompose.
After a harrowing evening descent down the mountainside in her discoverers backpack, a 12-hour forced march atop a burro, and an overnight bus ride, the Ampato Maiden found a temporary home in an ordinary household freezer in Arequipa, Perus Universidad Catolica de Santa Maria.
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