Incan Mummies
The bundles opened, it is a girl, head on her knees in a fetal position. The life still present in her eyes. Her young, desiccated, face so calm and peaceful. Never knowing of the future that was to come. She lived her life and to honor that the Incas mummified her body, sending her spirits to live among the gods. The Inca or Inka Empire is located in modern day Peru their empire lasted from 1438–1533. The Incas had the largest empire in Pre-Colombian America. The Inca civilization arose from the highlands of Peru sometime in the early 13th century; the Spanish ending their empire conquered them. They were famous for their sacrifices and mummification. Incan culture believed that when someone died their spirits would live on
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The process occurred either naturally, or intentionally. Incan mummification involved specific purposes. The Incans thought that after someone passed away their spirits resurrected and lived life with the gods. The Incans also thought that mummification and burial among the living was supposed to keep the deceased as part of the living. During process of mummification the treatment of the dead’s body depended on their social status. Ceremonial mummification was very different from the sacrificial mummification, because ceremonial mummies were usually kings and nobles. The king’s body was usually prepared very carefully and extravagantly. Their funerals were celebrated with great pomp and splendor; their bodies were embalmed and magnificently dressed, kept on the throne and attended on by staff. Kings were accompanied in their graves with exquisite decorations, multi colored woven burial coats and pottery and animal sacrifices. To celebrate their life the king or noble’s body was taken to each temple and shrine in every village to be blessed. On the to the villages miles and miles of the roads were covered in …show more content…
The Incas provided us with general information about their culture and mummification, but with the use of technology and science anthropologist and archeologist were able to scratch closer to the surface of the Incas by excavating mummies. After the excavation anthropologist performed an autopsy detailing their state when they died and how they died. With the autopsy the researchers were able to tell the ages of the mummies. A sample of the contents of their stomach were taken helping them find out how long it takes their bodies to freeze. They copied the mitochondrial DNA using the PCR or polymerase chain reaction. The DNA of the mummies was of such high quality because of the fact that the mummies were very well preserved because of the cold weather. The examination of the mummies body’s helped us find out an amazing fact about one of the mummies, Juanita. It led to the discovery that “She had a lung infection before she died which could have played a factor in her death”(Halls 10). Scientist used a technique called shotgun proteomics. They placed the samples into a device called a mass spectrometer, which broke all of the samples proteins into their constituent parts, amino-acid chains. Sophisticated software compared these parts using existing proteins of the human genome to determine the actual proteins in the samples. They found that the Maiden's profile of
The Inca were South American Indian people who ruled one of the largest and richest empires in the America's. The Inca Empire began to expand about 1438 and occupied a vast region that centered on the capital, Cusco, in southern Peru. The Empire extended more than 2,500 miles (4,020 kilometers) along the western coast of South America. It included parts of Present - Day Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia, Chile, and Argentina. The Inca Empire was conquered by Spanish Forces soon after their arrival in 1532.
Mummification is an ancient egyptian burial rite that is centered around preparing the soul of the deceased for the afterlife. There are multiple steps involved in the process of mummification and several objects with different functions used to perform this burial rite. Mummification is centered around the thought that death was merely physical and your soul continued living, with the ability to take distinct action, in the afterlife. Everyone desired to be mummified, however the extent of the mummification depended on the wealth of the family involved. Mummification was also generally not a rite reserved for criminals and lawbreakers since the idea behind mummification is for the deceased to have an easier afterlife.
The Incan Indians started as a small tribe in South America in pre- Columbian times. According to Lin Donn, author on the website, Inca Empire for Kids Quick History, “The Inca empire started as a small tribe who lived in the village of Cuzco, high in the Andes Mountains of South America. One day, another tribe tried to conquer them. Thanks to
Masks of deceased persons are part of traditions in many countries. The most important process of the funeral ceremony in ancient Egypt was the mummification of the body, which, after prayers and consecration, was put into a sarcophagus enameled and decorated with gold and gems. A special element of the rite was a sculpted mask, put on the face of the deceased. This mask was believed to strengthen the spirit of the mummy and guard the soul from evil spirits on its way to the afterworld.
The Inca Empire was short-lived. It lasted just shy of 100 years due to the collapse of the empire in 1532. There are many legends and myths about how the Incas came to be. According to one legend, the creator god
If someone died from natural causes, their death ceremony depended on their social standing and how they died. If they died of old age, people would prepare the corpse by wrapping the body in paper, then cremating it along with a dog so they would have a companion to travel the underworld with. If you died a hero death or by sacrifice, the hero was buried in the ground with objects resembling images of the mountain gods. The Aztecs wrapped their bodies in cloth decorated with birds and butterflies to show the greatness of their
Felipe Guaman, Poma De Ayala. The First New Chronicle and Good Government: On the History of the World and the Incas Up to 1615. Trans. Roland Hamilton. Ed. Roland Hamilton. Austin, TX: U of Texas, 2009. Questia School. Web.https://www.questiaschool.com/read/120797805/the-first-new-chronicle-and-good-government-on-the
The Incan Empire was the largest empire in the 16th century in South America. The capital was Cusco and the civilization had expand from the west coast of South America, modern day Ecuador, Boilivia, Argentia, and expanded to Peru. The government style was similar to that of socialism. The empire was divided into four provincial governments: Chinchasyu, Antisuyu, Kuntisuyu, and Qullasuyu. Inca Pachacuti had founded the empire and unite all of the kingdoms together. The thrown was then inherited by his decendent, but once the Spanish had reached South America the empire fell. Francisco Pizarro led the spanish into the empire and manipulated the two ruling emperors which then hed him to his victory. After capturing one of the emperors, Pizarro
Inca was a very large empire located in South America. It was the largest pre-Columbian America Empire, at its height it had around 10 million people. The daily life of the Incas depended on their place in the hierarchy that they called a class system. There were many different roles in the Inca class system, some of them are: The Sapa (The Leader), The Villac Umu (chief Priest), Coya (The Queen), farmers and many more however, these are the most important roles.
The Inca were a great civilization who lived in the Andes long ago. They worshipped many deities including the mighty Viracocha (Veera-coach-a) and his children, Inti (In-tee), Mama Quilla (Mama kill-uh), and Pachamama (Paka-mama). This report’s purpose is to inform you about this civilization’s people’s religion.
The Inca Empire was located in Peru, the empire included around six million people that developed a complex political system and a large network of paved roads that brought together the residents of tribes throughout the area. In Central America and the Yucatan peninsula, the Mayans created a sophisticated culture. They had established a unique written language, an accurate calendar, a numerical system, and an innovative agriculture system. The Aztecs assembled intricate administrative, educational, and medical systems. These systems were close to those of Europe which was one of the most progressive countries in the world.
The postal system was developed to pass messages quickly over a long distance. It was quite effective considering that there were no animals used for transporting people and no written language. It worked through a network of relay runners who lived in homes along the road with their families. As a messenger approached, “he blew a shell trumpet to alert the resident runner, who came out and ran with him a short distance while memorizing the message and receiving any accompanying objects.” (Isbell n.p.) The system was very efficient because the message was always being transferred, and was never at rest. It was able to carry a message 1250 miles in just five days. The distance between their homes varied from one-half to five miles depending on the terrain. The rest stations were also an impressive feature of the road system. The stations were placed anywhere from 6-25 miles apart and were intended to be a day’s march away from each other so that travelers had a place to rest each night. They varied in complexity from one-room buildings to “small centers where local peoples organized for state activities, and they included storage buildings with food and other goods, rooms that could be occupied by travelers, and sometimes other facilities” (Isbell n.p.). These two systems, the messaging and rest services, were key components to the complexity of the
How is it possible that the small amount of Spanish conquistadors were able to defeat the strong and powerful Inca empire? The successful conquer was due to the death of the Inca king, Wayna Capac, and the spread of smallpox brought over from Europe and carried by Pizarro and his people. This caused the Inca’s to break into a civil war on who should be the next king, dividing the people making it easier for the Spaniards to conquer. Although Jared Diamond identified guns and steal and some of the most important things in the spanish conquest, the ultimate fall of the Inca empire was because of the germs from the Europeans and the civil war that broke loose after the fall of the Inca king. The colonization of the Incan empire was made successful
The Incas also believed in the afterlife and they cared a lot for the dead people that they mummified and placed them in tombs. Incas believed that by getting food by the relatives to their resting place, they communicate with the dead person by doing this. The Incas usually ha a funeral for eight days and they will usually wear black as this was their
The shrine of Tutankhamun uncovers the burial customs of the New Kingdom Egyptians. The Canopic Shrine positioned on the east wall of the Treasury holds Tutankhamun's embalmed internal organs. A gold chest held four Canopic jars containing the dead pharaoh's internal organs in each jar. Undoubtedly, through the process of mummification, the embalmers must have removed the internal organs and preserved them in the Canopic jars, perhaps to be taken with the pharaoh to the next world. The third and innermost of three coffins of Tutankhamun is made of solid gold and is inset with semiprecious stones and coloured glass. It is covered with carved decorations and inscriptions inside and outside. It bears the names and epitaph of the deceased king and also protective texts. From this we discover the significance of the importance of the decoration of the mummy was, and the power the coffin was believed to hold. Originally, mummification was so expensive that it was a privilege enjoyed only by the Pharaoh and few nobles. Everybody else was given a simple grave burial in one of the vast cemeteries or "necropolises" of the time. But the promise of eternal life was so appealing that it wasn't long before other classes of Egyptians began signing up for mummification, too.