Latest news with #CollegeofArchaeologistsofPeru
Time of India
11 hours ago
- General
- Time of India
1,000 year old mummy discovered in Peru's capital: Teenage boy's remains found buried; artefacts including tomb markers unearthed
The remains belonged to a boy aged between 10 and 15 (AP image) U tility workers installing gas pipelines in Lima's Puente Piedra district uncovered a pre-Inca mummy estimated to be around 1,000 years old, their company confirmed this week. The remains, discovered at the depth of 1.2 meters, belonged to a boy aged between 10 and 15 and were found in a seated position with arms and legs bent. The body was wrapped in a shroud alongside ceramic artifacts including plates, bottles, and jugs featuring geometric and fisherman motifs, as well as calabash gourds. The tomb has been allocated to the Chancay culture, which thrived on Peru's central coast between the 11th and 15th centuries. Archaeologist, Jesús Bahamonde, director of the archaeological monitoring plan at gas company Cálidda, said the burial style and accompanying objects indicate the site dates to between 1000 and 1200 AD. Earlier in the excavation, workers came across the trunk of a huarango tree (a species native to coastal Peru) at just 50 centimeters below the surface. According to Bahamonde, such trees were historically used as a tomb markers in coastal Peru. Jose Aliaga, another archaeologist with the company, noted that the mummy was found in a bundle and still had dark brown hair. He added that the discovery site was once agricultural land that has been transformed into a residential area in recent decades. Pieter Van Dalen, dean of the College of Archaeologists of Peru, explained that it is common to find funerary elements, such as tombs, burials, and mummified individuals, across Lima and the broader Peruvian coast, given the region's long-standing human settlement and dry climate favourable to natural mummification. In line with national regulations, utility companies like Cálidda are required to employ archaeologists during excavation work to avoid damaging heritage sites. Since 2004, Cálidda has reported more than 2,200 archaeological discoveries across the city.
2 days ago
- Science
Utility workers uncover 1,000-year-old pre-Inca mummy in Peru's capital
LIMA, Peru -- Utility workers excavating trenches to expand the network of natural gas pipelines in Peru's capital have uncovered a pre-Inca mummy approximately 1,000 years old, barely half a meter (20 inches) from the surface. The mummy had gone unnoticed despite urban development in a district of Lima where former agricultural fields have been converted into working-class neighborhoods in recent decades. Jose Aliaga, an archaeologist with utility Cálidda, on Wednesday said the unearthed mummy, found in a seated position and covered by a bundle, still has dark brown hair. 'We found remains and evidence that there could be a pre-Hispanic burial,' Aliaga said. He said workers made the discovery last week. Lima, located in a valley irrigated by three rivers fed from the Andes, housed human civilizations thousands of years before the Spanish arrived in 1535. Now home to 10 million people, the city has more than 400 archaeological sites, most of which are intertwined with the current urban fabric. 'It is very common to find archaeological remains on the Peruvian coast, including Lima, mainly funerary elements: tombs, burials, and, among these, mummified individuals,' said Pieter Van Dalen, dean of the College of Archaeologists of Peru. Van Dalen, who is not involved in the discovery, said mummies on the Peruvian coast are usually found mummified naturally, generally in desert areas, with the skin dehydrated by the summer heat. He explained that other unearthed remains have been found to have undergone mummification procedures for cultural reasons and are usually discovered in a seated position with their hands covering their faces. Jesús Bahamonde, director of the archaeological monitoring plan of metropolitan Lima at Cálidda, said the mummy found last week would have belonged to a society of fishermen of the Chancay culture, which flourished between 1,000 and 1,470 AD.
Winnipeg Free Press
2 days ago
- Science
- Winnipeg Free Press
Utility workers uncover 1,000-year-old pre-Inca mummy in Peru's capital
LIMA, Peru (AP) — Utility workers excavating trenches to expand the network of natural gas pipelines in Peru's capital have uncovered a pre-Inca mummy approximately 1,000 years old, barely half a meter (20 inches) from the surface. The mummy had gone unnoticed despite urban development in a district of Lima where former agricultural fields have been converted into working-class neighborhoods in recent decades. Jose Aliaga, an archaeologist with utility Cálidda, on Wednesday said the unearthed mummy, found in a seated position and covered by a bundle, still has dark brown hair. 'We found remains and evidence that there could be a pre-Hispanic burial,' Aliaga said. He said workers made the discovery last week. Lima, located in a valley irrigated by three rivers fed from the Andes, housed human civilizations thousands of years before the Spanish arrived in 1535. Now home to 10 million people, the city has more than 400 archaeological sites, most of which are intertwined with the current urban fabric. 'It is very common to find archaeological remains on the Peruvian coast, including Lima, mainly funerary elements: tombs, burials, and, among these, mummified individuals,' said Pieter Van Dalen, dean of the College of Archaeologists of Peru. Van Dalen, who is not involved in the discovery, said mummies on the Peruvian coast are usually found mummified naturally, generally in desert areas, with the skin dehydrated by the summer heat. He explained that other unearthed remains have been found to have undergone mummification procedures for cultural reasons and are usually discovered in a seated position with their hands covering their faces. Jesús Bahamonde, director of the archaeological monitoring plan of metropolitan Lima at Cálidda, said the mummy found last week would have belonged to a society of fishermen of the Chancay culture, which flourished between 1,000 and 1,470 AD.
