Constanza Ceruti

María Constanza Ceruti (born 11 January 1973 in Buenos Aires, Argentina) is an Argentine anthropologist and mountaineer, who has done more than 80 field surveys, most of them as part of National Geographic teams in Andean regions of Argentina, Chile, Bolivia, Ecuador and Peru. Her most important findings are the Children of Llullaillaco, considered the best preserved mummies in the world by the Guinness World Records. She is also the first woman worldwide to specialize in high-altitude archaeology, studying Inca ceremonial centers on the summits of Andean peaks above 6000 meters. and a professor of Inca Archaeology at the Catholic University of Salta (UCASAL).

Ceruti is the first woman to specialise in the field of high-altitude archaeology.

She has done more than 80 field surveys, many with National Geographic teams in Argentina, Chile, Bolivia, Ecuador and Peru. Much of her research takes place on sites that have never been explored before.

She has conducted research on sacred mountains and the world´s religions in the Nepal Himalayas, India, Thailand, Australia, New Zealand, Hawai, Egypt, Morocco, Turkey, Greece, Croacia, Norway, Italy, France, Spain, Ireland, Scotland, England, Greenland, Canada, Alaska, United States, Mexico, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Brazil, Peru and Chile. Her work has a significant impact in many areas of research.

Education Born in the city of Buenos Aires on 11 January 1973, Constanza Ceruti studied at the University of Buenos Aires, graduating with the university's Gold Medal and a degree in anthropology in 1996. In October 2001 she earned her doctorate cum laude at the National University of Cuyo, the first person to specialize in high altitude archeology. as well as the founder and ad-honorem director of the Institute of High Mountain Investigations of the Catholic University of Salta. and the Society of Woman Geographers. the Llullaillaco volcano in 1999, the snow-capped Cachi in 1996 and 1997 and Quehuar in 1996 and 1999.

Research The work Ceruti does at high altitudes is exceptionally dangerous. These mummies are considered some of the best-preserved mummies of the world. The Museum of High Mountain Archeology of Salta (MAAM) has been built to provide a home for them.

For six years, Ceruti and others at UCASAL scientifically studied the mummified bodies of the three Inca children of Llullaillaco in an international collaboration. They were able to determine the general lifestyle, ages, and causes of death of the children. The youngest, a girl, died at age six of pulmonary oedema as a result of the high altitude. After her death, her mummy was struck by lightning. The second youngest, a boy, died at age seven due to exposure to cold. The oldest, a fifteen-year-old girl, also died of exposure. DNA analysis showed that they were not related. .

Pucará de Tilcara After receiving her doctorate in 2001, Ceruti lived for five years in an adobe house Living there enabled Ceruti to become deeply aware of village life and its connections to pre-Incan and Incan traditions. 5 August 2000, the Argentine Army awarded Ceruti its highest mountain distinction, the Golden Condor Honoris Causa ("Cóndor Dorado Honoris Causa of the Ejército Argentino") for her high altitude experience with over 100 ascents above . 2005, Emerging Explorer, National Geographic Society 2006, Prince of Asturias Award in the Communication and Humanities category, received on behalf of the National Geographic Society by Ceruti, John Fahey, Reza Deghati (Iran), Enric Sala (Spain) and Michael Fay (USA) 2007, WINGS Women of Discovery Award for Courage 2008, Academic Vocation Award (Vocación Académica), National Conference on Vocation, Training and Employment in the Argentine Republic 2010, Woman of the Year (Mujer Destacada de Salta), Salta 2014, Honorary Doctorate in Humanities, Moravian College, Pennsylvania 2019, Member of the National Academy of Sciences of Buenos Aires (ANCBA) 2026, Konex Award in Anthropology, Argentina.