Incan Mummies
A couple of days ago I visited a museum that housed Incan mummies and displayed the various gifts and riches accompanying the sacrificed children. These corpses survived deterioration because they were buried high in Andean mountains at 6,500 meters. A popular spot for mountaineers to tackle because of the difficult trek, these mountains rewarded climbers with cultural treasures. Eventually a group of archaeologists heard rumors about the artifacts of Incan society. The group summitted this Andean pass to discover three perfectly preserved bodies. To honor and further investigate ancient Incan culture, the archaeologists brought the bodies to be displayed by the public to fund the further research and raise interest about historic indigenous Incan culture.
It's odd but I'm beginning to soak in museums differently. Instead of using museums to simply see cool objects and document my trip, I'm processing these sights mentally and thinking about how everything fits together. I'm beginning to take fewer and fewer photos now, but expanding upon my previously short journal entries. Has anyone else ever tried to imagine themselves living as an Inca back in the day? Now a days, sacrificing people feels barbaric, but I can still picture the excitement of the birth of a new king, a divine ruler, sweeping over a country. Being such a momentous historical moment and so wholeheartedly praying for fertility of the holy king, therefore the population and all that surrounds Incan society, that the most influential families from each corner of the empire ritualistically offered their most beautiful son and daughter to the gods.
In a culture so foreign from our own, it's hard to picture human sacrifice as such an acceptable, important aspect of society. As much criticism as Mel Gibson receives, in the film Apocalypto, I admire his ability to take his own mental images of such unknown times and bring them to life. In my head I have my own pictures strung together. As I continue to see more, I hope to build upon the film in my mind of a very real time in history, about which, we understand so little.
It's odd but I'm beginning to soak in museums differently. Instead of using museums to simply see cool objects and document my trip, I'm processing these sights mentally and thinking about how everything fits together. I'm beginning to take fewer and fewer photos now, but expanding upon my previously short journal entries. Has anyone else ever tried to imagine themselves living as an Inca back in the day? Now a days, sacrificing people feels barbaric, but I can still picture the excitement of the birth of a new king, a divine ruler, sweeping over a country. Being such a momentous historical moment and so wholeheartedly praying for fertility of the holy king, therefore the population and all that surrounds Incan society, that the most influential families from each corner of the empire ritualistically offered their most beautiful son and daughter to the gods.
In a culture so foreign from our own, it's hard to picture human sacrifice as such an acceptable, important aspect of society. As much criticism as Mel Gibson receives, in the film Apocalypto, I admire his ability to take his own mental images of such unknown times and bring them to life. In my head I have my own pictures strung together. As I continue to see more, I hope to build upon the film in my mind of a very real time in history, about which, we understand so little.
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