Latest news with #mummy
Yahoo
10 hours ago
- General
- Yahoo
Peru gas workers find thousand-year-old mummy
Peruvian gas workers this week found a thousand-year-old mummy while installing pipes in Lima, their company said, confirming the latest discovery of a pre-Hispanic tomb in the capital. The workers found the trunk of a huarango tree (a species native to coastal Peru), "which served as a tomb marker in the past," at a depth of 50 centimeters (20 inches), archaeologist Jesus Bahamonde, scientific coordinator of Calidda gas company, told reporters. The mummy of a boy aged between 10 and 15, was found at a depth of 1.2 meters, he added. "The burial and the objects correspond to a style that developed between 1000 and 1200," he said. The remains discovered on Monday were found "in a sitting position, with the arms and legs bent," according to Bahamonde. They were found in a shroud which also contained calabash gourds. Ceramic objects, including plates, bottles and jugs decorated with geometric figures and figures of fishermen, were found next to the mummy. The tomb and artifacts belong to the pre-Inca Chancay culture, which lived in the Lima area between the 11th and 15th centuries. They were discovered while gas workers were removing earth from an avenue in the Puente Piedra district of northern Lima. In Peru, utility companies must hire archaeologists when drilling the earth, because of the possibility of hitting upon heritage sites. Calidda has made more than 2,200 archaeological finds since 2004. Lima is home to over 500 archaeological sites, including dozens of "huacas" as ancient cemeteries are known in the Indigenous Quechua language. ljc/sf/cb/sla
Malay Mail
20 hours ago
- General
- Malay Mail
Peru gas workers unearth 1,000-year-old child mummy beneath Lima street
LIMA, June 20 — Peruvian gas workers this week found a thousand-year-old mummy while installing pipes in Lima, their company said, confirming the latest discovery of a pre-Hispanic tomb in the capital. The workers found the trunk of a huarango tree (a species native to coastal Peru), 'which served as a tomb marker in the past,' at a depth of 50cm, archaeologist Jesus Bahamonde, scientific coordinator of Calidda gas company, told reporters. The mummy of a boy aged between 10 and 15, was found at a depth of 1.2m, he added. 'The burial and the objects correspond to a style that developed between 1000 and 1200,' he said. The remains discovered on Monday were found 'in a sitting position, with the arms and legs bent,' according to Bahamonde. They were found in a shroud which also contained calabash gourds. Ceramic objects, including plates, bottles and jugs decorated with geometric figures and figures of fishermen, were found next to the mummy. The tomb and artefacts belong to the pre-Inca Chancay culture, which lived in the Lima area between the 11th and 15th centuries. They were discovered while gas workers were removing earth from an avenue in the Puente Piedra district of northern Lima. In Peru, utility companies must hire archaeologists when drilling the earth, because of the possibility of hitting upon heritage sites. Calidda has made more than 2,200 archaeological finds since 2004. Lima is home to over 500 archaeological sites, including dozens of 'huacas' as ancient cemeteries are known in the Indigenous Quechua language. — AFP
Washington Post
2 days ago
- Science
- Washington Post
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.
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Science
- Yahoo
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.
CTV News
2 days ago
- Science
- CTV News
Utility workers uncover 1,000-year-old pre-Inca mummy in Peru's capital
Archaeologist Jose Aliaga excavates an ancient mummy, which he said is a female from the pre-Inca Chancay culture, that was discovered by city workers who were digging a natural gas line for the company Calidda in the district of Puente Piedra on the outskirts of Lima, Peru, Wednesday, June 18, 2025. (AP Photo/Martin Mejia) 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 metre (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.
