After San Juan we headed north again to Salta (17 hour bus journey). We both agree that to date this is the nicest town we´ve been in. There are so many differnt cultural and geographical differences to the place. It had desert coldness in the Andes and the Puna, then the subtropical heat of the jungle, with cool fertile valleys, mountains and rivers in between.
The city of Salta was founded in 1582 and it still has a distinct Hispanic character making it stand out from the other places we´ve been to. The city is full of colonial houses, narrow streets and pavements, all surrounded by the brownish green hills.
The main square (Plaza 9 de Julio), has the Cathedral (painted pink) at one end and the old city hall (the Cabildo) at the opposite end. It was lovely sitting out in the sun on the cobled streets drinking coffee and people watching (oh and trying to fend off 7 year old snotty children trying to sell us religious icons!)
The most amazing thing we saw here was the MAMM museum
The museum was opened in Salta in 2004 and it gives such an insight into the Inca culture and heritage. The High Mountain Sanctuary was discovered in 1999 in the Llullaillaco Volcano (above 6739 metres above sea level) in the Andes range. Three children bodies were found there in perfect state of preservation. These children had been offered as sacrifice to the Inca deities along with a fantastic collection of over 100 objects.
Gold and silver statuettes, textiles and spondyllus are all on show in the museum.The three children are currently in freezers in the musuem as they are still under tests etc. But they show you an hour long video footage of their discovery & the testing that has been done to date on them. It was the most eerie thing we´ve seen, you´re stuck between sadness, pity, interest, and medical dumbfoundedness watching the video. We werent allowed take any photos within the museum but if you click on this link you should be able to see photos of the wee kids. http://www.turismosalta.gov.ar/internacional/in/reco_maam.as p
They were given lots of local beer and drugged on coco leaves, then when they were in a drunken slumber they were brought to the top of the mountain and buried alive. It was seen as a huge honour to the families of the children that their kids had been selected as sacrafice to Pacha mama (mother Earth).
Mediacal studies showed that not alone were the children perfectly preserved on the outside, but on the inside also! Their brains showed a small amount of shrinkage which would be normal as part of dehydration, but everything else remained fully entact and the correct size etc for children their age. The only body part missing in all three was thier spleen, however there was no evidence of disection, or interferance prior or after their death, therefore suggesting people of that time didnt have a spleen! Even their intestines still had fecal matter inside. They can only be examined for 10 minutes in a day in a strictly controlled tempreture environment, then its straight back to the freezer.
They were buried with little toys and things they played with which are all still perfectly preserved and remain in cooled glass cabinets in the museum.
The museum really does give an unbelievable insight to the history, dressings, eating habits and rituals of the Inca people and its influence in the North of Argentina.
There seems to be a little controversy over the removal of the children. Some of the local tribal people reckon they should never have been removed, that they were watching over everyone keeping them safe and providing good agrricultural returns each year. While on the other hand the scientists see them as an experiment to be investigated. One guy on the video siad how he could see it from both sides, but the way he looks upon them is as 3 little angels.
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