a , not only represented Inca symbols but were also previously legitimized in ceremonies conducted by the emperor himself. Historical accounts The fullest description of a capacocha comes from Cristóbal de Molina who placed it in the context of a monarch’s ascension. He wrote that all of the towns of the empire were called upon to send one or two boys and girls about 10 years old to the capital, along with fine cloth, camelids, and figurines of gold, silver, and shell. The boys and girls were dressed in finery and matched up as if they were married couples. Priests were then dispatched to the four quarters with sacrificial items and orders to make offerings to all according to their rank. The parties left the city in straight-line paths, deviating for neither mountain nor ravine. At some point, the burdens were transferred to other porters, who continued along the route. The children who could walk would do so, while those who could not were carried by their mothers. The Inca himself traveled the royal road, as did the flocks. Archaeologically, the evidence to support sacrifices at that scale is lacking. Bauer, In his fieldwork among the of Cuzco, found surface evidence of human burial at three shrines, but nothing approaching the thousands of victims described in the chronicles has yet been reported. Even so, Molina’s comment that the rituals paid special attention to high peaks has been supported by the archaeological finds described. The principal offerings recovered from those sites – gold, silver, spondylus shell, and children – also accurately match the priest’s account. Cultural significance In Inca culture, the dead served as link between the Inca people and the gods. Capacocha served as way to appease the gods, who otherwise might cause natural disasters like floods, earthquakes, and famines as a punishment for the people's sins. Children sacrificed in capacocha ceremonies became servants of the gods, or, in capacocha ceremonies following an emperor's death, servants to the emperor. They also served as guardians of the areas where they were sacrificed. Children sacrificed in capacocha ceremonies were also commemorated by their home communities, or . Having a child sacrificed in a capacocha ceremony was also considered a great honor to the family, and parents sometimes volunteered their children for sacrifice. High-altitude sites Special attention was paid by the Inca to a number of ceremonial sites at very high elevations. Over