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Frozen In Time

High on icy Mount Ampato, in the Andes Mountains of Peru, researchers have found a 500-year-old scene. The star of the scene: a mummy of a 12-year-old girl they call Juanita.

Juanita was an Inca. The Incas ruled the western part of South America before the Spaniards arrived to conquer the territory in the 1500s.

Juanita's body is well preserved because she was frozen. Scientists say we will be able to learn a lot about the Incas' health, genetics and nutrition by studying her organs.

Johan Reinhard, an American anthropologist, found Juanita. He and his friend Miguel Zarate of Peru struggled to get the mummy down the icy slope. They found two more mummies that have not been examined.

They also found statues made of gold, silver and shell. The scientists were thrilled to see that clothing and fancy feather headdresses on the statues had been perfectly preserved. When Reinhard saw the scene, he said, "Holy smokes! The statues are just sticking out of the ground."

The three mummified people may have been sacrificed, which means killed in a religious ritual. The Incas believed natural disasters, like blizzards and avalanches, were caused by mountain gods. One reason they sacrificed people was to stop the gods from being destructive. People chosen to be sacrificed saw it as a great honor, according to Reinhard.

But a force of nature helped reveal the treasures. A volcanic eruption in the Andes caused the ice at the burial site to melt, exposing the treasures beneath it. Scientists think that was a lucky accident. But the Incas might have said the gods finally decided to show the world more evidence of the amazing Inca culture.

Next: A Picture-Perfect Job