Discovering the Inca Ice Maiden Hardback - 1998

When Johan Reinhard and his climbing partner first saw the mummy from a distance, they thought it surely must be a hiker's backpack or other object. Much to their shock, it actually was a 500-year-old mummy -- the frozen body of an Inca girl barely In her teens! This amazing find, providing new clues to the Incan Empire, electrified scientists and archaeologists around the world. Reinhard's discovery and the adventures that led him to the Inca ice maiden are the basis for this fascinating book -- part of the National Geographic Society's Explorers in Residence series.

The gripping tale recounts how Reinhard and his assistant Miguel Zarate, after finding the ice maiden. embark on a perilous race against the sun to get the mummy down the mountain before she melts. In addition to the incredibly intact mummy, Reinhard tells how the amazing ceremonial site atop the volcano yielded even more fascinating discoveries -- numerous artifacts, gold and silver statues, textiles, and two more mummies!

Throughout the tale of the adventure Reinhard intertwines descriptions of his anthropological studies and extensive mountain climbing, making for a story that is sure to inspire and spark the curiosity of young readers. As he recounts his nerve-wracking climb to the summit of Ampato, he shares a wealth of historical knowledge about Incan culture. Dozens of his own color photographs -- as well as an instructional map, timeline, glossary, and index -- accompany the story, culminating in thediscovery that captured the imagination of the world.

An anthropologist's gripping tale of his discovery of a 500-year-old frozen Inca teenager will fascinate and inspire young readers