Eight thousand-year-old funerary bundles, containing the remains of six children and two adults, were found in good condition in the Lima district of Carabayllo by workers who were installing natural gas in that area of ??the capital of Peru. . “At the moment we have found eight funerary contexts composed of six children and two adults, they are bundled, that is, covered by fabrics and accompanied by their funerary trousseau composed of vessels, pumpkin material and wooden tools,” explained Jesús Bamonde, archaeologist of the Cálidda company.
The team of archaeologists dates the time of death of the children and adults found in the bundles between the years 1100 and 1450 after analyzing the ceramics found at the site. They also pointed out that this part of the cemetery could be dedicated to infants, since there were two babies and four children, something demonstrated at a glance by the unfinished saturations in the skulls and kneecaps.
“The remains were wrapped in cotton, in pacae leaves (a legume) and in natural cotton fabric, which in some cases was decorated,” explained archaeologist Mercedes Vara while carefully cleaning the bundle of a baby. The archaeologists were amazed by the positions in which the children were buried, most in the fetal position and one lying in a lotus flower position.
In addition to the eight bodies, numerous objects have been found related to the work that the families did in life, part of the funerary trousseau, such as ceramic pieces, vessels, mate bowls, plates, glasses, cups that they used or that they gave in a ritual manner. at the funeral. You could even see pots blackened by soot, demonstrating their daily use and lids that covered containers that had been filled at the time of the ritual.
The state of conservation of the remains is, according to experts, “fair to good,” because the terrain where they were found is sandy and dry, which “has helped maintain the tissues and soft elements of the bodies, which have been passed through a natural mummification process, it is a good condition and differs from other burials in which there are only skeletons.
“The city of Lima has a historical continuity of more than 4,000 years, we have archaeological vestiges, (…) that show that the city had a very extensive occupation in the three valleys (Rímac, Chillón and Lurín); each of these valleys It had different populations that occupied different territories, some were residential areas, ceremonial areas and others were cemeteries, like where we are,” said the archaeologist.
“This continuity over time has allowed much of this evidence to be hidden under the clues; now we have the possibility and the privilege of knowing a little more about this history hidden from the eyes of the neighbors,” he concluded.
