Region
The mummies are found in the northern region of the Atacama desert where it is possible to find the remains of an ancient society known as the Chinchorros that date back centuries before the time of Jesus. Due to the warm, dry air typical of the desert and the arid landscape, the bodies are naturally well preserved. The proximity to the coast and the presence salt everywhere also serves to maintain the integrity of the bones and included decorations.
People & Culture
To best understand the origin of the mummies, one must turn their focus to the people that responsible. The Chinchorro people were primarily hunter gatherers living in the southern reaches of modern day Peru and the northern parts of modern day Chile. On account of the techniques that they nearly perfected, the bones of their people tell the grand story of their history, dating back to 5450 BC by some accounts. This would put society there around the time of Noah's flood. Despite their efficacy at preservation, the civilization is no longer present and the exact cause of their disappearance is unknown. The last signs of their presence are estimated to have been left around 590 BC.
The Mummies
The process
The mummification process involves a variety of methods and special steps in order to prevent rot. First, the body is opened and the organs are removed to be properly dried. The body is then stuffed with the original organs and reassembled using sticks and clay. Reeds are used to sew up the body and a clay mask is added to the face, complete with eye, nose, and mouth holes to finish the look. Finally, the mummy is painted with white, black, and red ash, maintaining more humanity and improving the artistry. Some people then choose to include a wig of human hair to further add to their postmortem style and life after death.
From discovery to modern day
The first reported mummy was found on the beach in 1917 by German archeologist Max Uhle. It is unknown whether the citizens had found others before this time, yet it seems likely on account of the number of bones discovered in the time since. After the initial identification, the bones were dated and have led researchers to believe these mummies are older than those of the Egyptians. According to some stories, the children in the area now have learned to not only live, but play with the mummies in their backyards, using their heads for soccer balls and stripping the clothes off of them. Local experts now state that the people come tell them when they find something so that it can be preserved or even added to the Archeological Museum of San Miguel de Azapa, the museum located near Arica and putting the practices of antiquity on display.
Transcript
The Chinchorro society no longer exists, but their mummies are still being studied. The question is Why did they begin this process? The answer is not simple, but there are demographic changes that can help to understand. According to the experts, during the time that they began the mummification process, there was a big growth in their population. When the people saw that their mummies were not destroyed by the weather or climate, they believed that the dead were still a part of their society but in another state. Death was a normal part of life, so they continued to include the dead in their community. There were so many mummies that it changed the landscape of the area, and each day the people walked on top thousands of mummies.
Works Cited
UNESCO World Heritage Convention. (2021). Settlement and artificial mummification of the chinchorro culture in the Arica and Parinacota region. https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/1634/#:~:text=Brief%20synthesis,coastal%20beginnings%20to%20its%20disappearance.. National Geographic. (2012). Why did people start mummifying their dead in the driest place on earth?” https://www.nationalgeographic.com/science/article/why-did-people-start-mummifying-their-dead-in-the-driest-place-on-earth. Zorich, Z. (2012). The desert and the dead. Archaeology Magazine. https://archaeology.org/issues/november-december-2012/digs-discoveries/from-the-trenches-the-desert-and-the-dead/#:~:text=The%20.