Archaeologists from the Universidad Nacional Mayor de San Marcos recently made a startling discovery in a burial chamber in Peru, not far from the capital Lima.
It writes the university itself on its Facebook pages.
Around 40 archaeologists began the excavation at Cajamarquilla in mid-October, and have now made a discovery of a mummy in very good condition.
Fastsurret mumie
The find was made underground, in the middle of an old square on the ancient trading post. It must according to CNN have come as a big surprise, as the team did not look for any mummy at all.
The special thing about the find is that the mummy was found in a rather brutal position: Lashed in a rope, in the fetal position with his hands in front of his face.
However, this should be a common burial custom from the mountain regions in southern parts of Peru, according to the researchers who lead the excavation.
– The discovery of this resident gives us new knowledge about interaction and conditions in the time before the Spaniards came here, says archaeologist Pieter Van Dalen Luna to CNN.
He led the excavation with his colleague Yomira Huamán Santillán. Students from the universities of San Marcos, San Cristobal de Huamanga and San Antonio de Abad del Cusco have contributed to the work.
According to Luna, the mummy is probably a young man between 25 and 30 years old, who had traveled from the mountain areas down to the trade center in Cajamarquilla.
– High status
The mummy can be as old as between 800-1200 years, which means that it belongs to a time long before the Spaniards came to the continent.
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It is also older than the Inca population, which is known, among other things, for having established the famous citadel Machu Picchu in the 15th century.
The circumstances surrounding the discovery lead researchers to believe that this was not an ordinary citizen, but probably an important person in his own time.
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– The fact that we find a mummy with these characteristics in the middle of the square, makes it clear that this is someone with a high status, Luna says.
He says that the person, for example, may have been a high-ranking trader.
Offering
Outside the burial chamber, archaeologists found several molluscs from the sea. These may have been gifts from descendants, according to archaeologists.
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– After the body is placed in the burial chamber, events and activities outside constantly take place. The descendants return over many years to lay down food and offerings, including mollusks, says Luna.
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He says that they have also found llama bones outside the burial chamber, an animal that was often eaten at that time. The researchers therefore believe that pieces of llama must have been prepared and then offered as a sacrifice to the deceased.
In addition, archaeologists have found pottery, remains of vegetables and stone tools, according to an article in the British newspaper The Guardian.
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Now the archaeological team will use the time ahead to carbon date the remains, so that they can narrow down the time period the person lived in, as well as find out more about the individual’s identity.
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