Video: Peruvian utility workers discover 1,000-year-old pre-Incan mummy
Utility workers in Lima, Peru, recently stumbled upon a 1,000-year-old mummy dating back to the pre-Inca period. The mummy likely belongs to the Chancay culture, which existed from 1000 to 1470 A.D. (Source: Associated Press).
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Utility workers in Peru have unearthed two pre-Incan tombs while carrying out their normal duties, just one of many archaeological discoveries made in the country this year.
Employees of the energy company Cálidda recently discovered the burial sites in Lima while digging trenches as part of a project to create an underground gas network.
Both tombs belong to the pre-Inca Chancay culture, which existed in Peru from 1000 to 1470 CE. The Inca Empire lasted from approximately 1400 to 1533 CE, with Spanish colonization beginning shortly thereafter.
These two tombs were significantly different from each other.
One of them was empty, and the other contained a 1,000-year-old skeleton.
A team of utility workers discovered two ancient tombs during excavations for a gas project in Lima. (AP Photo/Guadalupe Pardo)
The photographs show excavators removing remains from the soil.
According to the Associated Press (AP), four clay vessels and three “gourd shell artifacts” were also found in the tomb.
“Lima occupies a special place among the capitals of Latin America, since almost every civil project here produces various archaeological finds.”
The male skeleton was found in a torn textile bundle in a sitting position with his legs pressed to his chest.
Archaeologist Jose Aliaga told the Associated Press that the vessels retained iconography and elements of black, white and red.
“[This] allows us to establish a connection with the pre-Incan Chancay culture,” the archaeologist noted.
He added: “Lima is unique among Latin American capitals because almost every civil project here involves various archaeological discoveries.”
The discovery was part of ongoing work on the energy company Cálidda's gas pipeline project. (AP Photo/Guadalupe Pardo)
Local resident Flor Prieto was walking around the area with her 7-year-old daughter during the excavations.
In an interview with the Associated Press, she said she believed the area had always been uninhabited.
“I always thought these were trails where no one lived,” Prieto said.
“But now I realize that there were people there before the Incas… It’s so exciting.”
One of the pre-Incan tombs was found empty, while another contained the 1,000-year-old male skeleton seen in this close-up above. (AP Photo/Guadalupe Pardo)
This is not the first time Calidda has encountered a skeleton.
Over the past 20 years, the company has made more than 2,200 archaeological discoveries.
A local resident said she was amazed to learn that ancient people once lived along what is now a hiking trail. (AP Photo/Guadalupe Pardo)
In June, as part of the same community project in Lima, archaeologists discovered a preserved female mummy that was 1,000 years old.
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