The Aconcagua mummy is an Incan qhapaq hucha mummy of a seven-year-old boy, dated to around 500 BP. The mummy is well-preserved, due to the extreme cold and dry conditions of its high altitude burial location. The frozen mummy was discovered by hikers in 1985 at 5,300 m (17,400 ft) on Aconcagua in Mendoza, Argentina.
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Discovery
The Aconcagua mummy was buried inside a semicircular stone structure and found covered in vomit, red pigment, and fecal remains. The body was wrapped in textiles in a style derived from central coastal Peru. Six statuettes were also found buried with the body.
An analysis shows that the boy's diet consisted primarily of maize, quinoa, capsicum, potatoes, and terrestrial meat. A year and a half before his death, his diet became more marine-based. The presence of achiote was also found inside his stomach and colon.
mtDNA evidence
DNA was extracted from a 350 mg (5.4 gr) sample from one of his lungs. His mtDNA lineage belongs to a subgroup of Haplogroup C1b, the previously unidentified C1bi (i for Inca). His mtDNA lineage contains 10 distinct mutations from C1b. The researchers determined that Haplogroup C1bi likely arose around 14,300 years ago. An individual from the Wari Empire was found to be a match for this previously unidentified haplogroup.