The mummy was buried in a simple circular tomb located at the top of a pyramid in the center of a residential area of Lima, Peru. Huaca Pucllana is a large clay pyramid more than 21 meters high in the city’s Miraflores district, Newsweek reported on September 8.
The structure consists of 7 alternating steps, built by the Lima culture that developed in the central coastal region of Peru between 200 and 700. This place served as an important ceremonial center for the ancient people. grand. Other activities such as administration may have been carried out here, but evidence suggests that its main purpose was ritualistic.
The area experienced three periods of inhabitation in the era before the Spanish colonial invasion. The first period is the Lima culture, who built and settled at Huaca Pucllana between 400 and 700. Next is the Huari culture (800 – 900). Finally, evidence of the Ychsma culture at Huaca Pucllana was found from the early second millennium.
The Ychsma culture developed in the area around the year 1000 before being assimilated by the Inca empire in the 15th century, apparently using Huaca Pucllana as a burial site. During excavations earlier this year, archaeologists found a tomb containing remains at the top of the pyramid, belonging to the Ychsma culture. To create the tomb, part of the structure was destroyed.
The archaeological team discovered that the person in the tomb was buried in a sitting position with his back bent with his face facing south, his hair and teeth still intact. The body was wrapped in a simple cloth. The tomb also contained a number of other artifacts, including ceramic jars, which helped researchers date the tomb to the early Ychsma culture.
Researchers have found corpses and offerings before at Huaca Pucllana. But those objects did not have the same decorative style as the objects buried in the newly discovered tomb.