Some of the items found near the Lightning Girl; notice the sandals, which were not on her feet. Small bags containing food and coca leaves were also placed with the burials.One of the figurines, made of silver, llama wool cloth, and feathers, 23 cm tall (9 inches). Llama figurines buried near the young woman.And a gold figurine buried near the girl.
Since the initial publication of these finds a lot of science has been thrown at them. We know that the victims were heavily drugged with alcohol and cocaine when they died, and that they had been taking a lot of cocaine for months before they were carried up the mountain. Their diets seem to have gotten much richer in their final months, with a lot more meat than they had eaten before; this confirms accounts saying the victims were treated with great respect before their deaths. They were not related. Spanish accounts say that the children were selected for their physical perfection, and that noble families from across the empire competed to have their children chosen, because of the honor it conferred on the family.
It is hard to imagine what any of this was like. First, the priests travelling the kingdom looking for suitable victims, a twisted version of those fairy tales in which they were seeking out a bride for the prince. Then the preparation of the victims, with a carefully chosen diet and a daily program of religious rituals lasting months. Meanwhile, men climbed to the mountaintop to build the platform and prepare the graves.At last the procession to the mountaintop, carrying the drugged children and the offerings, accompanied by music. Not much had to be done to kill the victims; at 22,000 feet, just leaving them on the ground scantily clad did the trick, if they had not died on the way up. Dead or dying, they were placed in the prepared graves, their gifts around them, and gravel piled over them. Their work done, the men marched back down the mountain toward warmth, oxygen, and lives that went on.
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