Scientists just found an 800-year-old mummy in Lima

Pottery is on display near the funerary site of the temple of Queen Nearit, the wife of King Teti, Sunday, Jan. 17, 2021, in Saqqara, south of Cairo, Egypt. Scientists announced they have found an 800-year-old mummy in Peru. | Nariman El-Mofty, Associated Press

A perfectly preserved mummy was found in Peru

Experts found a mummy estimated to be between 800 to 1,200 years old in Lima, Peru, per CNN.

• Researchers found the preserved body in an underground funerary structure in the middle of a town square.
• The mummy was tied with ropes, with hands covering the face, as per the southern Peruvian funeral custom, according to CNN.
• “The discovery of this resident sheds a new light on interactions and relationships in pre-Hispanic times,” said Pieter Van Dalen Luna, one of the archeologists who led the excavation, per CNN.

Researchers from the National University of San Marcos began excavating in mid-October with a 40 person team led by Van Dalen Luna and Yomira Huamán Santillán.

Researchers are still trying to figure out who the person was.

• Per the university, it is most likely a young man between the age of 25 and 30, who came to Cajamarquilla, a former commercial center in the pre-Columbian era.
• Van Dalen Luna guessed that it had to be an important person. “The fact of finding a mummy with these characteristics in the middle of the plaza makes it clear that this is someone of high status,” he said, according to reports.

The team will now conduct carbon dating and other specialized analyses that will allow them to learn more about this person’s identity.

This recent discovery has ignited more interest to uncover the mysteries of the most extensive settlements on the Lima coast, according to the university.

Scientists just found an 800-year-old mummy in Lima
Source: Gabriella Pinoys