Archaeologists recently made an intriguing discovery in Peru’s capital: a pre-Hispanic mummy covered in coca leaves, situated on a hill adjacent to a professional soccer club’s practice field.
A team from The Associated Press had the opportunity to witness the skeleton, which had long, black hair and was lying face up with its lower extremities bound by a rope made from vegetable vines. The mummy was buried three feet underground and surrounded by stones.
According to Miguel Aguilar, an archaeology professor at Universidad Nacional Mayor de San Marcos, the burial involved the use of coca leaves and seashells. Aguilar believes that the mummy dates back approximately 3,000 years and was left or offered as a sacrifice during the final phases of the temple’s construction.
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While the exact age of the mummy is yet to be determined through radiocarbon dating, Aguilar noted the presence of old fly eggs near the male skeleton, suggesting that the body was exposed for several days before being buried.
The mummy was discovered in Rímac, a district in Lima located on the opposite side of the river from the city’s oldest area. Aguilar, who also leads the Historical and Cultural Center of the Municipality of Rímac, explained that the rope binding the mummy’s lower extremities is a common ceremonial element. He referenced another mummy found in a different part of Lima with a similar vegetable rope binding.
The excavation team faced a significant clean-up effort before making the discovery, as they had to remove around eight tons of rubbish covering the hill’s top. This hill, which features remnants of ancient mud walls, is known as a “huaca” – a Quechua word meaning oracle or sacred place. Lima is home to over 400 huacas, according to the Ministry of Culture.
Martin Mejia / AP
Interestingly, mummies and other pre-Hispanic remains have been found in unexpected locations throughout the city. Construction workers installing gas lines or water mains have stumbled upon mummies, sometimes even those of children, hidden within large clay vessels.
For example, just outside Lima at the Cajamarquilla archaeological site, a centuries-old mummy of a child was unearthed in April. In 2022, archaeologists at the same site discovered six mummified children. There have also been cases where Peruvian police have encountered individuals in possession of mummies, such as a man who had kept one in his cooler bag, claiming it was his “spiritual girlfriend.”
In some instances, local residents themselves have made remarkable discoveries. For instance, Hipólito Tica found three pre-Hispanic mummies in a hole in the patio of his house, which he kept secret for 25 years until archaeologists were given permission by the Ministry of Culture to remove them in 2022.
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