"So what?" you may say, "You are dealing with an entire class devoted to burial rites and rituals... what's the big deal about three 500-year old kids?"
First... the fact that they are suspected to be sacrifices... and of the Incan variety... and anyone that knows their history will know that there's not a lot LEFT of the Incan Empire, what with the Spaniards curb-stomping them in 1532-1535 and all...
https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJVt5VJUgvOhM1TfzlxLzENQ-C5Q2_9UUPSJFhnwT948l8X0pp2-_Jl14eoXDoqS3thNMS5sLPgANRH3HgXn7qU-IU_zQDO8MoDcVVKMXiuWr93prUsJsYxwNa08IU0ZXXlg_DhHz9e8c/s320/incan.jpg 
https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgejHcGzukykKhs7-cZBcFL8ZhNX7Q7-N4697TkCgygJWpElzitzAiZ1hZyibVjXu1B30KVrZHFJjUSYLAGDONaSOoTabwZfIrCAPd1VQlVNVHNNCqs71G9mloxM_gh78Y1hBejqZy3Zzc/s320/_312846_inca150.jpg
Second, the find was rich with grave goods (example above right)... 37 different gold, silver and shell statues, half of them clothed, as well as bundles of ornate textiles, moccasins and pottery, some still containing food.
That's a lot of (frozen) stuff.
Did I say frozen?
Oh yes, I certainly did; most critical to this investigation and discovery is the fact that the children were 'mummified' naturally... and the inclement weather conditions (110mph winds and freezing temperatures) made it so the bodies literally froze BEFORE they became dehydrated... such that all the organs of the children are still intact... to the point where blood was found still in their hearts. The little bodies are SO well preserved (right down to the hair on their arms) that some experts are baffled by their condition, claiming that their appearance is more that of a child that died a matter of weeks, or even days previous.
A further remarkable point is the fact that the researchers endured these same conditions severely in order to retrieve the three mummified children...
... because they were buried 22,000 feet (6,700 metres) above sea level on the summit of Mount Llullaillaco in Argentina.
Twenty two THOUSAND feet.
MY question is... considering the team of researchers had the latest advances in survival gear and were pushed to the limits of their endurance for twelve days until their find... HOW did the native Incans of 500 years past not only manage to GET the children (the cause of death had yet to be determined at the writing of the article, but sacrifice is suspected) up to the summit of Mount Llullaillaco - apparently a really tall volcano... but further to that point, how did they manage to STAY up there long enough to bury the children 1.5 meters in the earth?
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/312846.stm
http://www.trussel.com/prehist/news116.htm
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