logo
episode-header-image
Mar 2024
44m 2s

3. Machu Picchu: Inca Gods and Human Sac...

History Hit
About this episode

Part 3/4. Juanita the Ice Maiden is one of the most famous mummies in the world. She was found in 1991 by anthropologist Johan Reinhard lying out in the sun on top of a dormant volcano in the Peruvian Andes. Found almost perfectly preserved, she was bludgeoned to death as a human sacrifice.


Dan is joined by Johan who tells the story of her discovery as well as a host of expert guests who give insight into Inca spiritual practices and death rituals….from speaking to oracles and keeping mummified family members in the house to child sacrifice. And, while visiting the Andean Sanctuaries Museum to see Juanita, Dan is presented with an extraordinary request...


Produced by Mariana Des Forges and edited by Dougal Patmore.


Enjoy unlimited access to award-winning original documentaries that are released weekly and AD-FREE podcasts. Get a subscription for £1 per month for 3 months with code DANSNOW sign up at https://historyhit/subscription/


We'd love to hear from you- what do you want to hear an episode on? You can email the podcast at ds.hh@historyhit.com.


You can take part in our listener survey here.


Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Up next
Nov 24
John F. Kennedy: Myths vs Reality
<p>John F. Kennedy was a man of charm, power, and contradictions. Behind the public image of the heroic president lay a figure plagued by pain, haunted by his past, and driven by desire.</p><br><p>Dan is joined by esteemed biographer Randy Taraborelli to explore Kennedy's private ... Show More
43m 41s
Nov 20
The Spanish Armada
<p>In 1588, Spain’s mighty armada sailed to invade England and change the balance of power in Europe. Dan explains why Philip II launched the Armada, details the high-stakes clash in the Channel, and outlines the decisive tactics, leadership and luck that helped the English preva ... Show More
1h 9m
Nov 17
Nuremberg: The Trial of Göring
<p>Warning: This episode contains discussion of suicide.</p><br><p>When the Nuremberg Trials began in November 1945, Hermann Göring was the highest-ranking Nazi to face justice for the crimes of the Third Reich. Charismatic, manipulative and unrepentant, he became the central fig ... Show More
40m 3s
Recommended Episodes
Sep 2023
Self Sacrifice in Ancient India
<p>Today we’re looking into self sacrifice in ancient India. Why did people do it? How did people think about death and the afterlife? Who were the gods people would sacrifice themselves for? And why would a widow sacrifice herself by sitting on top of her dead husband's funeral ... Show More
34m 45s
Aug 2023
Maya Sacrifice & Warfare
<p>With a history stretching back thousands of years, it’s about time that the Ancients started looking at the extraordinary Maya civilisation in Central America. Even with a range of sources that survive, many aspects of these ancient peoples remains debated and shrouded in myst ... Show More
53m 42s
Jun 2024
The Ark of the Covenant
<p>The Ark of the Covenant is one of the most famous, yet mysterious, objects mentioned in the Hebrew Bible. This special box that held the sacred 10 Commandments, written by God himself.</p><br><p>But what exactly was it? What stories are told about it? And, most intriguingly of ... Show More
47m 1s
Sep 2023
Origins of the Māori
<p>Around the time of the start of the Hundred Years’ War between England and France, and the Black Death was devastating tens of millions of people in Europe and Asia, waves of migration from Polynesia laid the foundations of the Māori society in Aotearoa - modern-day New Zealan ... Show More
42m 42s
Aug 2023
Pompeii: The Eruption of Vesuvius
<p><em>This episode contains references to scenes that some listeners may find distressing</em></p><br><p>In 79 AD, ancient armageddon hit Pompeii: Mount Vesuvius erupted, freezing in time a town and its inhabitants.</p><br><p>Nearly 2000 years on, Pompeii's story continues. In t ... Show More
40m 59s
Nov 2023
Ancient Goddesses of Sex and War
<p>Sex and death are often intertwined: one is the start of creation, the other is the end.</p><br><p>And as we’ll learn in today’s episode, ancient battlefields were the setting of intimate acts, too. One on one, heart pounding, adrenaline pumping and picking out a partner to…en ... Show More
32m 1s
Jul 2023
Lion Man: The First Myth?
<p>Discovered in a German cave, days before the Second World War broke out, the Lion Man statue remained an enigma for decades. A figurine that represents a hybrid creature with the body of a human and the head of a lion, the statue is made from mammoth ivory and is estimated to ... Show More
32m 45s
Jun 2023
Human Origins: Australopithecus
<p>For millions of years, Australopithecus thrived in Africa's vast landscapes, laying the groundwork for the emergence of the Homo genus. Later, alongside early members of the Homo genus, Australopithecus played a crucial role in shaping human evolution and our present-day exist ... Show More
43m 1s
Apr 2024
The Library of Alexandria
<p>The Library of Alexandria was one of the most important and most celebrated buildings of the ancient Mediterranean. It was a great hub of learning and literature and made Alexandria one of the ancient world’s foremost centres of knowledge and culture, and the jewel of the Nile ... Show More
39m 40s
Jun 2023
Amelia Earhart
<p>On July 2 1937, Amelia Earhart and her navigator, Fred Noonan, took off on what was supposed to be the final leg of their circumnavigation of the globe, but would in fact be their final flight.</p><br><p>In this episode Don is joined by Susan Butler to explore this American sw ... Show More
52m 11s