Anthropologist Reinhard gives a first-person account of the 1995 discovery he made with his assistant, Miguel Zárate, while climbing an inactive volcano high in the Andes mountains. Amazingly, a frozen mummy bundle lay right out in the open near the summit! It had been dislodged a few days earlier from the rock in which it had been buried for over 500 years. The challenges Reinhard and Zárate faced just getting the mummy off the mountain before it was destroyed by exposure are described step-by-step, as are the details of the scientific exploration that followed. Crisp color photographs of the events as they unfolded make readers feel as though they are on-site at the excavation and subsequent laboratory study of a mummy that provided researchers with plenty of evidence about Incan life prior to European contact. John Reinhard is one of the scientists interviewed in Pat Cummings' Talking with Adventurers (see earlier entry in this section). (Ages 9-14)

-- The author's study of ceremonial sites in the Andes mountains led to his amazing discovery of a mummified Inca maiden who died five centuries ago on the summit of Ampato, a 20,700-foot-high volcano in Peru

When Johan Reinhard and his climbing partner first saw the mummy from a distance, they thought it surely must be a hiker's backpack or other object. Much to their shock, it actually was a 500-year-old mummy -- the frozen body of an Inca girl barely In her teens! This amazing find, providing new clues to the Incan Empire, electrified scientists and archaeologists around the world. Reinhard's discovery and the adventures that led him to the Inca ice maiden are the basis for this fascinating book -- part of the National Geographic Society's Explorers in Residence series.

The gripping tale recounts how Reinhard and his assistant Miguel Zarate, after finding the ice maiden. embark on a perilous race against the sun to get the mummy down the mountain before she melts. In addition to the incredibly intact mummy, Reinhard tells how the amazing ceremonial site atop the volcano yielded even more fascinating discoveries -- numerous artifacts, gold and silver statues, textiles, and two more mummies!

Throughout the tale of the adventure Reinhard intertwines descriptions of his anthropological studies and extensive mountain climbing, making for a story that is sure to inspire and spark the curiosity of young readers. As he recounts his nerve-wracking climb to the summit of Ampato, he shares a wealth of historical knowledge about Incan culture. Dozens of his own color photographs -- as well as an instructional map, timeline, glossary, and index -- accompany the story, culminating in thediscovery that captured the imagination of the world.

An anthropologist's gripping tale of his discovery of a 500-year-old frozen Inca teenager will fascinate and inspire young readers