Preserving The Past
(Syracuse, N.Y., Aug. 12, 2002) ¿ In 1996, Dr. Johan Reinhard, an American anthropologist, was climbing Mt. Ampato in Peru. During his journey, he discovered the frozen body of a girl. As it turns out, she was a teenager sacrificed to appease the mountain deities believed to control the weather that could bring famine or plenty to her Inca community. If a rockslide triggered by ash from a nearby volcano hadn't exposed her to the elements, the details of her sacrifice 500 years ago might have remained unknown.
Dr. Reinhard called her a "window" to the ancient culture of the Incas, but her long-term preservation demanded a refrigerated case whose temperature and humidity could be controlled precisely and reliably. Being able to display the mummy also would spark both public and scholarly interest.
The National Geographic Society, sponsor of Dr. Reinhard's explorations, asked Carrier if it could build and donate two identical cases that would allow the ice maiden to be displayed while preserving the delicate temperature and humidity balance she required.
In the few months after her discovery, the "Ampato Maiden" had become a Peruvian national treasure. The likelihood of her being allowed outside the country was slim unless her preservation could be assured. National Geographic's own conservators even suggested there might not be enough time for testing such an important piece of equipment.
To come up with a way to effectively preserve the "Ampato Maiden," Carrier needed to gaze through its "window" to the past. The only way it could be done would be to modify an existing product to fit the task.
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Carrier considered several options, but rejected all of them for a variety of reasons. In the end, according to Dr. Charles Bullock, leader of the Carrier team that designed and built the preservation case, "we decided on the Packaged Terminal Air Conditioner (PTAC) because it already existed. It was reliable, it was easy to service in any part of the world and it would allow us to produce the display cases in the short time we had."
The mummy was flown to Lima, Peru, then Miami and Washington, D.C. She traveled in an insulated traveling box that was periodically replenished with dry ice. In Washington, she was placed in Carrier¿s refrigerated display case and exhibited in National Geographic's Explorers Hall where more than 100,000 people, including then President of Peru Alberto Fujimori and First Lady Hillary Clinton, had the chance to learn more about her and her ancient culture.
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The "Ampato Maiden" is now generally regarded as the best-preserved specimen of a pre-Columbian human in existence. She is home now, and remains on display in Arequipa, Peru, a small city near the base of Mt. Ampato. Scientists hope to learn much more from her by examining the state of her nutrition, looking for disease-causing organisms and attempting to recover unfragmented DNA samples from her tissue.
"With long-term preservation, you¿re never sure of what's going to happen," Reinhard says. "The smallest lapse in care can damage the mummy very quickly. The preservation units provide the consistent care she needs. Thanks to Carrier, we'll be learning from her for a long time."
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