Inca girl was sacrificed 500 years ago. She was all over the ice ages. It has contributed to excellent state of preservation. Two frozen bodies of two more young victims : seven year old boy and a six year old girl It was also found beside her.
Scientists examined the unique mummies Maiden, the eldest of three mummified Inca children found in 1999 in the Andes. Maiden was about 15 years old at the time of her death. She was suffering from a bacterial infection when she died - and be able to 'diagnose' disease can lead to new insights into diseases of the past.
This discovery may help to protect against the new disease, or re-emergence of diseases of the past. Mummy suffered from a disease similar to tuberculosis when she was sacrificed on the Argentinian volcano Llullaillaco, 22,100 feet above sea level. Find using a new technique for washing mouth swabs and comparing with those of current patients. This is the first case in which the disease was 'diagnosed' in this old body.
