Pictured on the left are the four regions of the Inca Empire: Antisuyu, Chinchasuyu, Contisuyu, and Collasuyu. Ritual and mummification processes may differ for these regions. Pictured on the right are the early Andean societies that predate the rise of the Inca Empire in the fifteenth century. The Wari and the Tiwanaku existed centuries before the rise of Tawantinsuyu. Building upon and joining earlier societies and kingdoms in the Andes, the Inca continued the cultural practices of ritual killing and mummification.

Carried out in remote locations, Capacocha - the ritual sacrifice of Inca children - differed from the mummification processes performed on the kings mentioned above. The deaths of Inca rulers were not a result of ritual killing but of accidental or natural causes. The mummification and ritual practices began once the rulers had died. While the tombs of sacrificial children often resided further from regular society and interaction like high in the Andes pictured on the left, the tombs of Inca rulers were visited frequently.