Johan Reinhard

Johan Reinhard is an American anthropologist and archaeologist. Currently, he is an Explorer at the National Geographic Society. He is also a senior research fellow at The Mountain Institute, a visiting professor at Catholic University, Salta, Argentina, an honorary professor of Catholic University, Arequipa, Peru.

Reinhard is famous for his discoveries of Inca mummies, including Mummy Juanita and frozen sacrifices on the peaks of the Andes in Peru and Argentina. He also has explored the sacred valleys of the Himalayas and performed underwater archaeology in some of the world's highest lakes. but he has also undertaken investigations in Tibet, Bhutan, Sikkim, and the Garhwal Himalaya.

His expeditions in the Andes during 1996–1999 led to the discovery of fourteen more Inca human sacrifices on five mountains above 18,000 ft. In 1999 he directed the excavations of three of the world's best preserved mummies at over 22,000 feet (6,739 m) on Llullaillaco, the world’s highest archaeological site.

In 1995 and 1999 Time selected Dr. Reinhard's finds as among “the world's ten most important scientific discoveries” of those years—making him one of the few scientists to have had his research chosen twice for this recognition. In 1968 in Nepal he found the Raute and Kusunda, two of the world's last nomadic hunting and gathering tribes, the latter with only a few speakers of a language unrelated to any other and one of the world's rarest languages.

Recognitions Johan Reinhard has received several awards for his research in the Andes, including the Rolex Award for Enterprise in 1987, the Puma de Oro (Bolivia's highest award in the field of archaeology) in 1992, and the Gold Medal of the city of Arequipa (Peru) in 1996. In 1997 he was twice noted in the Guinness Book of Records. His book for young adults on his discovery of the Ice Maiden was selected as an "Outstanding Book" in 1998 by the Junior Library Guild. In 2000 he was selected by Outside magazine as one of “today’s 25 most extraordinary explorers,” and in 2001 the Ford Motor Company chose him as one of twelve "Heroes for the Planet." In 2002 his finds of the frozen Inca mummies were highlighted by Time in their book Great Discoveries about the world’s most important finds from all fields of science. He received the prestigious Explorers Medal of the Explorers Club in 2002 for his contributions to the field of exploration. Three museums have been built to exhibit the archaeological finds made during his expeditions: the Museo Santuarios Andinos (Museum of Andean Sanctuaries) in Arequipa, Peru; the Museum of High Altitude Archaeology (MAAM) in Salta, Argentina; and a site museum in the village of Challapampa, Island of the Sun, Lake Titicaca, Bolivia. In 2017 he received the Sir Edmund Hillary Mountain Legacy Medal for archeological discoveries and scholarship in the Himalayas and the Andes.

Literature Johan Reinhard has over eighty publications and is a member of several organizations, including the American Anthropological Association, the Society for American Archaeology, the Explorers Club, the Institute of Andean Studies, and the Royal Geographical Society.

Books Inca Rituals and Sacred Mountains: A Study of the World's Highest Archaeological Sites (with Constanza Ceruti), University of California. Los Angeles (2010) Machu Picchu: Exploring an Ancient Sacred Center, University of California, Los Angeles (2007) The Ice Maiden: Inca Mummies, Mountain Gods, and Sacred Sites in the Andes, National Geographic Society, Washington, D.C. (2005) Machu Picchu: The Sacred Center, Instituto Machu Picchu, Lima (2002) Investigaciones arqueológicas en el Volcán Llullaillaco: Complejo ceremonial incaico de alta montaña (with Constanza Ceruti), Universidad Católica, Salta (2000) Discovering the Inca Ice Maiden. National Geographic Society, Washington, D.C. (1998) Exploraciones Arqueológicas Subacuáticas en el Lago Titikaka, (with Carlos Ponce et al.) Editorial La Palabra, La Paz (1992) The Nazca Lines: A New Perspective on their Origin and Meaning. Editorial Los Pinos, Lima (1988, 4th ed.) Las Líneas de Nazca: Un Nuevo Enfoque sobre su Origen y Significado, Editorial Los Pinos, Lima (1987) Nepal Cross-Cultural Trainers Manual (with Underwood and Shrestha), New Educational Research Associates, Kathmandu (1978)

Articles Inca Mummies on Andean Peaks. In The Modern Explorers, Hanbury-Tenison, R. and Twigger, R. (eds.), Thames & Hudson, London (2013) Sacred Featherwork of the Inca. In Peruvian Featherworks: Art of the Precolumbian Era, King, H. (ed.), the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York (2012) Las Montañas Sagradas y las Culturas Preincaicas de los Andes. In América: Tierras de Montañas y Volcanes. Huellas de la Arqueología. Chávez, M., Iwaniszewski, S., and Cabrera, R. (eds.), Instituto Nacional de Antropología y Historia (INAH), México, D.F. (2012) Inca Mummies: Child Sacrifice on Andean Peaks. In Discovery: Unearthing the New Treasures of Archaeology, Fagan, B. (ed.), Thames & Hudson, London (2007) Cloud Diving. In They Lived to Tell the Tale: True Stories of Modern Adventure from the Legendary Explorers Club. Russell, J. (ed.), Lyons Press, New York (2007) Into the Hidden Crater—An Andean Adventure. Explorers Journal (2003) A High Altitude Archaeological Survey in Northern Chile. Revista Chungara (2002) Sacred Landscape: The Prehistoric Cultures of the Andes. In Extreme Landscape, MacDonald, B. (ed.), National Geographic Society (2002) Coropuna: Templo y Montaña de los Incas. Revista del Centro de Investigaciones Arqueológicas de Alta Montaña (2001) Frozen in Time. National Geographic 196 (5) (1999) New Inca Mummies. National Geographic 194 (I) (1998) The Temple of Blindness: An Investigation of the Inca Shrine of Ancocagua, Andean Past (1998) Llullaillaco: Investigación del Yacimiento Arqueológico más Alto del Mundo, Anales de Arqueología y Etnología (1997) Sharp Eyes of Science Probe the Mummies of Peru. National Geographic (1997) Peru’s Ice Maidens. National Geographic (1996) House of the Sun: The Inca Temple of Vilcanota. Latin American Antiquity (1995) Llullaillaco: An Investigation of the World's Highest Archaeological Site. Latin American Indian Languages Journal (1993) Tiahuanaco, Centro Sagrado de los Andes, In Guía Cultural y Turística de Bolivia. Fundación Cultural, La Paz (1992) Underwater Archaeological Research in Lake Titicaca, Bolivia. In Ancient America: Contributions to New World Archaeology, Saunders, N. (ed.), Oxbow Books, Oxford (1992) An Archaeological Investigation of Inca Ceremonial Platforms on the Volcano Copiapo, Central Chile, In Ancient America: Contributions to New World Archaeology, Saunders, N. (ed.), Oxbow Books, Oxford (1992) Sacred Peaks of the Andes. National Geographic (1992) Interpreting the Nazca Lines. In The Ancient Americas: Art From Sacred Landscapes, Townsend, R. (ed.), The Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago. Investigación Arqueológica de las Plataformas Inca Ceremoniales en los Volcanes de Copiapo y Jotabeche (Región de Atacama). Revista Contribución Arqueológica (1991) Tiwanaku: Ensayo sobre su cosmovisión. Revista Pumapunku (1991) Tiahuanaco, Sacred Center of the Andes. In The Cultural Guide of Bolivia, McFarren, P. (ed.), Fundación Cultural Quipus, La Paz (1990) Heights of Interest. South American Explorer (1990) Informe sobre una sección del camino Inca y las ruinas en la cresta que baja del nevado de Tucarhuay. Revista Sacsahuaman (1990) Mysteries of Lake Titicaca: Archaeology Beneath the Waves. In The Cultural Guide of Bolivia, McFarren, P. (ed.), Fundación Cultural Quipus, La Paz (1990) The Nazca Lines, Water and Mountains: An Ethno-archaeological Study. In Recent Studies in Pre-Columbian Archaeology, N. Saunders and O. de Montmollin (eds.), British Archaeological Reports, Oxford The Sacred Himalaya, American Alpine Journal (1987) Chavín y Tiahuanaco: Una Nueva Perspectiva de Dos Centros Ceremoniales Andinos. Boletín de Lima (1987) Chavin and Tiahuanaco: A New Look at Two Andean Ceremonial Centers. National Geographic Research (1985) Sacred Mountains: An Etthno-Archaeological Study of High Andean Ruins. Mountain Research and Development (1985) High-Altitude Archaeology and Andean Mountain Gods. American Alpine Journal (1983) Las Montañas Sagradas: Un Estudio Etnoarqueológico de Ruinas en las Altas Cumbres Andinas. Cuadernos de Historia (1983) The Chonos of the Chilean Archipelago. Bulletin of the International Committee on Urgent Anthropological and Ethnological Research (1981) Khembalung: The Hidden Valley. Kailash, A Journal of Himalayan Studies (1978) Shamanism among the Raji of Southwest Nepal. In Spirit Possession in the Nepal Himalayas, Hitchcock, J. & Jones, R. (eds.), Vikas Publishing House, New Delhi (1976) Shamanism and Spirit Possession: The Definition Problem. In Spirit Possession in the Nepal Himalayas, Hitchcock, J. & Jones, R. (eds.), Vikas Publishing House, New Delhi (1976) The Ban Rajas: A Vanishing Tribe. Contributions to Nepalese Studies (1976) The Raute: Notes on a Nomadic Hunting and Gathering Tribe of Nepal. Kailash, A Journal of Himalayan Studies (1974) Underwater Archaeology in Austria: A Preliminary Report. International Journal of Nautical Archaeology and Underwater Exploration (1974) Preliminary Report on Wood Working in Nepal. Anzeiger der philosophische-historischen Klasse der Osterreichischen Akadamie der Wissenschaften (1969) Preliminary Report on Pottery Making in the Kathmandu Valley, Nepal. Anzeiger der philosophische-historischen Klasse der Osterreichischen Akadamie der Wissenschaften (1969) Aperçu sur les Kusunda: peuple chasseur du Népal, Objets et Mondes (1969) The Kusunda: Ethnographic Notes on a Hunting Tribe of Nepal. Bulletin of the International Committee on Urgent Anthropological and Ethnological Research (1968)

In collaboration Archaeological, radiological, and biological evidence offer insight into Inca child sacrifice. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (co-authored with A. Wilson, et al.) (2013) Síntesis de Estudios Interdisciplinarios en las Momias Congeladas del Volcán Llullaillaco (co-authored with Constanza Ceruti, Previgliano, C., González J., & Arias F.). In XV Congreso Nacional de Arqueología Argentina, Austral, A. and Tamagnini, M. (eds.) (2009) Stable isotope and DNA evidence for ritual sequences in Inca child sacrifice (co-authored with Andrew Wilson, et al.). Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (2007) Sacred Mountains, Ceremonial Sites, and Human Sacrifice Among the Inca (co-authored with Constanza Ceruti). Archaeoastronomy (2005) A Compositional Analysis of Pottery Vessels Associated with the Inca Ritual of Capacocha (co-authored with Tamara Bray, Minc, L., Ceruti, C., Perea, R. & Chávez, J.A.). Journal of Anthropological Archaeology (2005) Rescue Archaeology of the Inca Mummy on Mount Quehuar, Argentina (co-authored with Constanza Ceruti). In Proceedings of the Fifth World Mummy Congress, Torino (2005). Paleoradiologic Evaluation of the Llullaillaco Mummies (co-authored with Carlos Previgliano, et al.). American Journal of Roentgenology (2003) Expedición Arqueológica al Altiplano de Tarapacá y sus Cumbres (co-authored with Julio Sanhueza). Revista de Corporación para el Desarrollo de la Ciencia (1982). Expedición Arqueológica al Volcán Licancabur (co-authored with Ana Maria Baron). Revista de Corporación para el Desarrollo de la Ciencia (1981) Ascensión al Volcán Licancabur y Otros Nevados (co-authored with George Serracino and Ana Maria Barón). Revista del Centro de Investigaciones Arqueológicos de Alta Montaña (1980)

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