The mummies have been added to the World Heritage List by UNESCO due to the remarkable discoveries concerning the Chinchorro people.
When it comes to the topic of “ancient mummies”, most people’s first reaction is to remember the great pharaohs of Egypt, buried in their sumptuous pyramids.
But what if we say that the oldest are found nearby, on the American continent, and that they are 7,000 years old?
Chinchorro culture
According to a BBC report, according to the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (Unesco), it is in the Atacama Desert that “the oldest known archaeological evidence of artificial mummification of bodies” is found. For this reason, at the end of July this year, the body included the mummies and the place that houses them on the World Heritage List.
The chinchorros, as they are called, formed a hunter-gatherer society that lived in the region between the ports of Ilo, in Peru, and Antofagasta, in Chile, more than 7,000 years ago. There is still little information about them, but the researchers believe that they were organized in groups of 30 to 50 people, which would have some kinship relationship.
Notable features also include the funeral rites: the dead were so important that they were subjected to mummification processes, with techniques that date back 2,000 years before the Egyptians began to practice them.
Expert in fishing
As they live in a territory rich in marine resources, the chinchorros have specialized in the practice of fishing, developing different tools for this purpose, such as an alzol made from cactus spines and harpoon points. Other instruments were made with bones and shells.
As a result, the chinchorros were able to build semi-permanent settlements at the mouths of rivers and streams in the Atacama region.
In addition to this material culture, there is yet another evidence that indicates the daily interaction of this civilization with the waters: the tumors found in the ears of the mummies. According to the Chilean Museum of Pre-Columbian Art, the theory is that these tumors are the cause of deep-sea diving.
Mummification techniques
The process of mummification of chinchorros consisted of removing organs and viscera from the body and replacing them with vegetables, wool, pieces of leather, feathers, among several other types of materials. The brain, for example, was replaced by clay, ash, earth and animal hair.
Researchers from the University of Tarapacá also report that the scalp and facial skin of loved ones used to be removed. Then the face was modeled and adorned with a wig made from human hair. Finally, the deceased was dressed in a vegetable cloth and had the body covered with clay.
Change of customs
Experts say that, initially, the instigating civilization mummified only newborns and children, whose bodies were placed next to clay figurines. However, around 3000 BC, they were already performing this process on individuals of all ages who belonged to the group.
Even embalming techniques have changed over time, becoming simpler and simpler. For this reason, we can find mummies that are simply bandaged, while others are black, due to the use of manganese oxide, or even red, covered by iron oxide.
“The chinchorro culture considered their mummies to be part of the world of the living, which explains why they left their eyes and mouth open and used stretchers, made of plant fiber or animal skin, to transport them,” said the University of Tarapacá.
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Source: 1stauditor.com
