Scientists have discovered five mummies, including four children, at the archaeological site of Huaca La Florida, estimated to be at least 1,000 years old.
The recently unearthed mummies are likely associated with the Ychsma culture, as reported by CBS News on November 23. This culture thrived in the pre-Inca period, developing along the central coastal region of Peru from around 900 to 1450.
The mummies were found near a small hill with stairs, potentially leading to a temple about 3,500 years old, according to Luis Takuda, the lead archaeologist of the Huaca La Florida research project. Takuda explained that three mummies were wrapped in cloth, while the remaining two were sets of bones with skulls still adorned with hair.
The research team believes that the entire excavation site of the five mummies served as a place for sacred ceremonies. “It is a very important ceremonial center, where the Ychsma people considered it a sacred space and chose to bury the deceased here,” said Takuda.
This is not the first time that scientists have found mummies or skeletons with preserved hair. In September, they excavated a thousand-year-old mummy with long, well-preserved hair. This mummy was buried in a simple circular tomb atop the Huaca Pucllana pyramid in the Miraflores district of Lima, Peru.
Archaeologist Hector Walde noted that the five Ychsma mummies were not sacrificial victims but were laid to rest in a sacred space. The mummies were located near several houses and a soccer field used by a professional Peruvian football team for training. The hill where the mummies were discovered was covered in debris, requiring excavators to work for several months to clean it. Police also evacuated homeless individuals from the area.