A Fascinating Mummy In Peru

 

DISCOVERIES

A Good Hair Day

Archaeologists recently discovered a nearly perfectly preserved 1,000-year-old mummy with long, brown hair in the Peruvian capital of Lima, Smithsonian Magazine reported.

The mummy is believed to have belonged to the Ychsma culture, an ancient civilization that inhabited the central coast of what is now Peru, before the rise of the Inca Empire.

While the gender of the mummy remains undetermined, researchers were surprised by its unique hairstyle: It appears to have long, braided locks.

The excavation team also uncovered a number of artifacts, including two ceramic vessels and a cloth wrapped around metal objects.

Researchers said the mummy was placed in a burial position with bent legs and crossed feet, which are all characteristic of Ychsma funerary practices. The mummy was buried beneath the Huaca Pucllana, an ancient adobe and clay pyramid.

Archaeologists explained that the pyramid was built around 500 CE by an earlier civilization known as the Lima culture. Over the centuries, the site was inhabited by other cultures, including the Ychmsa, before the Spanish arrived in the early 16th century.

Researchers explained that the find is significant as it contributes to the understanding of the Ychsma culture, which has been relatively less studied compared with the Inca civilization.

Meanwhile, Huaca Pucllana is considered a unique archaeological site, located right in the heart of modern-day Lima.

Lima is known for its wealth of archaeological treasures and ancient mummies: Earlier this year, researchers found a 3,000-year-old mummy from the Manchay culture, which populated the area between 1500 and 1000 BCE.