Ice Maidens of the Andes

During the lifetime of one of the last of the 13 Inca emperors who controlled parts of western coastal South America between 1200 and 1532, a girl now called Juanita summited Mt Ampato. In the ending months of 1995, nearby volcanic ash melted mountain top ice and snow, putting this mummified ICE MAIDEN OF THE ANDES in the path of mountain explorers Johan Reinhard and Miguel Zarate. The author gives an idea of how difficult high altitude archaeology can be and of how Latin American mummies such as Juanita, El Plomo and Sarita can answer scientific questions, such as verifying that the wart virus existed in the pre-Columbian western hemisphere. So Janet Buell's book reads well with David Getz's FROZEN GIRL, Nova's ICE MUMMIES: FROZEN IN HEAVEN video, Dr Reinhard's DISCOVERING THE INCA ICE MAIDEN, and Susan Vande Griek's A GIFT FOR AMPATO.