Mysterious Mummies
Image credit: Tierra Atacama Hotel.
Image credit:Arriaza 1995a.
Image credit: NY Daily News.
The oldest sites of mummification:
The world’s oldest artificially preserved mummies were found at the Camarones gorge (100km South of Arica). Dated to 5050 BCE, the only five children out of the twenty three Chinchorro individuals found buried together are mummified in the black mummification style (Arriaza 1995a).
The Chinchorro were also known to have taken advantage of the preserving conditions of the nearby Atacama desert. The oldest known naturally preserved Chinchorro mummy dates to 7020 BCE and was found in Arica (Arriaza 1995a).
It is believed that this Arica-Camarones region was the beginning center of mummification as mummies from further areas have not been found with earlier dates (Arriaza 1995a).
Image credit:
Ancientorigins.net.