Discovery of 4,500-year-old female mummy sheds light on ancient Peru
Source: The Guardian
Discovery of 4,500-year-old female mummy sheds light on ancient Peru
Archaeologists say the mummified remains, found near one of the oldest
cities in the Americas, probably belong to a noblewoman aged 40 to 50
Alan Yuhas
Saturday 23 April 2016 14.00 BST
Archaeologists in Peru have discovered the 4,500-year-old mummy of a woman buried near in one of the most ancient cities of the Americas.
Dr Ruth Shady Solís said the mummy was probably a noblewoman who died aged 40 to 50 years old and was buried in the coastal ruins of Aspero, about 14 miles away from Caral, a city with some of the most ancient pyramids in the Americas. Both sites stand about three hours north of the modern capital of Lima.
The mummy was buried with carved objects of monkeys and birds, which Shady Solís said suggested possible trade between the coastal town and Caral, a larger inland city. Shady Solís deduced the womans social status from the value and diverse origins of the objects around her: seashells, carved desert birds and designs of jungle monkeys.
Shady Solíss team has dated the mummy to about 2,500BC, around the same time that people of the region began building pyramids, but has not offered a theory as to the womans death.
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Read more: http://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/apr/23/peru-mummy-woman-ancient-civilization