Up to 9,000 years ago, the Chinchorro Culture lived on the coasts of what is now northern Cʜɪʟᴇ and southern Pᴇʀᴜ, and interestingly, they intentionally mummified their ᴅᴇᴀᴅ.
The practice of mummification originated around 7,000 years ago, making it 4,000 years older than the Eɢʏᴘᴛian equivalent.
On purpose, the brain and other organs were removed, and their places were filled with plant material. There is also proof that the mummies weren’t buried right away; instead, they were carried around and proudly displayed for a long time, just like the illustrious Inca did.
They also practiced mummification, and frequently the elderly, children, and even fetuses received the most elaborate levels of preparation. Mummification was practiced by all social classes in their society. The majority of other cultures who practiced this kept it exclusively for the elite.
The fact that many of these ancient people practiced mummification and that their skulls appeared to be elongated, as shown in these photos from the Iquique Museum on the Cʜɪʟᴇan coast, intrigued me even more than the fact that they did.
The practice of cranial deformation was widespread around 2000 years ago, with the royal classes of society being the main targets.
Early findings indicate that natural red hair was present on many of the elongated skulls from Paracas.
The skull in the image above is strikingly similar to those discovered in Paracas but may be thousands of years older.
The only DNA analysis of elongated skulls that I am aware of is being done by Pᴇʀᴜvian associates and myself.
Source: dailylifeworld.com
