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| El Plomo mummy | |
|---|---|
| Name | El Plomo mummy |
| Material | Human remains, textiles, artifacts |
| Created | c. 15th century CE (Late Horizon) |
| Discovered | 1954 |
| Location | Santiago Metropolitan Region, Chile |
| Current location | Museo Nacional de Historia Natural (Chile), Santiago de Chile |
El Plomo mummy The El Plomo mummy is a well-preserved human child burial recovered from the summit region of Cerro El Plomo in the Santiago Metropolitan Region of Chile in 1954, notable within studies of Andean archaeology, Inca Empire, mummification practices, archaeological conservation, and Andean ritual chronology. The find has informed comparative research involving Moche culture, Tiwanaku, Wari, Spanish conquest, and modern Chilean archaeology institutions.
In 1954 a team led by Gonzalo Figueroa and involving members of the Instituto de Cultura Hispánica and local mountaineering clubs uncovered the burial during an expedition on Cerro El Plomo alongside mountaineers connected to Club Andino de Chile, attracting attention from the Universidad de Chile, Museo Nacional de Historia Natural (Chile), National Monuments Council (Chile), and international scholars from Smithsonian Institution, Peabody Museum and British Museum who later reviewed reports. News of the discovery spread through Santiago de Chile press and spurred fieldwork by teams associated with Tom Dillehay and later comparative studies tied to excavations at Llullaillaco, Ampato, and sites within the Andes. The initial recovery involved coordination with the Chilean Air Force, Carabineros de Chile, and local indigenous communities who provided logistical support and tribal knowledge of high-altitude trails.
The burial contained an approximately eight- to nine-year-old child preserved by cold, desiccation, and funerary techniques characteristic of late prehispanic Andean mummification practices; the remains included hair, skin, articulated skeleton, woven garments, and associated offerings resembling artifacts from the Late Horizon and Inca administrative system. Material culture recovered comprised textiles with techniques tied to weavers previously studied at Cuzco, ceramic types paralleling those cataloged from Cusco Region and Aconcagua culture, and metal ornaments comparable to collections at the Museo Chileno de Arte Precolombino and Museo Nacional de Antropología. Preservation benefited from the summit's low temperatures and low humidity, conditions similar to high-altitude finds on Nevado Ampato and Llullaillaco, enabling curators at Museo Nacional de Historia Natural (Chile) and specialists from CONAF and ICOMOS to stabilize organic materials.
Archaeologists situate the El Plomo burial within a network of high-altitude ritual offerings documented across the Central Andes, including parallels with sacrifices identified at Ampato, Llullaillaco, Misti, and Cerros de Altar. Stratigraphic interpretation and typological comparison link the site to imperial-era patterns of pilgrimage, administrative control, and ritual practice associated with the Inca road system (Qhapaq Ñan), regional polities like Diaguita, and ceremonial centers such as Cusco and Quito. Comparative analyses have drawn on radiocarbon chronologies established by teams working at Tarapacá and Atacama Desert sites, and on artifact assemblages overlapping with materials cataloged by the Museo Chileno de Arte Precolombino and the Museo Arqueológico de La Serena.
Scholars interpret the burial as a capacocha or similar high-altitude ritual, linking it to rites documented in colonial chronicles by Diego de Rosales, Bernabé Cobo, and Pedro Sarmiento de Gamboa and to ethnohistoric records housed at archives like the Archivo General de Indias and libraries such as the Biblioteca Nacional de Chile. The offering assemblage reflects state and local interactions between Inca administrators, local elites, and ritual specialists comparable to figures discussed in studies of Amautas, Curacas, and Capac Cuna ceremonies; parallels appear in iconography referenced in artifacts from Cusco and in textile motifs comparable to holdings in the Museo de la Nación (Peru). Interpretations draw on theories advanced by scholars like John H. Rowe, Tamara Bray, and Helaine Silverman concerning Andean ritual landscapes, pilgrimage networks, and the political economy of sacrificial rites.
After recovery the mummy became the focus of conservation by staff at the Museo Nacional de Historia Natural (Chile), with consultation from conservators at the Smithsonian Institution Conservation Department, ICOM, and specialists in textile conservation from the Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile. Display protocols balanced ethical considerations raised by indigenous organizations, guidelines from the International Council of Museums (ICOM), and national cultural patrimony laws administered by the National Monuments Council (Chile). The specimen has been exhibited in rotating exhibitions in Santiago de Chile alongside collections from the Museo Chileno de Arte Precolombino, and has featured in outreach programs coordinated with the Ministerio de las Culturas, las Artes y el Patrimonio.
Scientific study of the remains has encompassed radiocarbon dating, paleopathology, stable isotope analysis, ancient DNA screening, textile fiber analysis, and material characterization using techniques developed at institutions such as Massachusetts Institute of Technology, University of Oxford, Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History, and regional labs at the Universidad de Chile. Results have contributed to debates about diet and mobility via isotopic comparisons with populations from Atacama Desert, Altiplano, and Valparaíso, paleopathological assessments paralleling work at Llullaillaco and Nazca sites, and genetic studies contextualized by population histories explored in research by Mattias Jakobsson and David Reich. Analyses of textiles and dyes have linked manufacturing techniques to traditions documented in collections of the Museo Larco, Museo Chileno de Arte Precolombino, and field reports from Cusco and Potosí, informing reconstructions of trade, craft specialization, and imperial integration across the Central Andes.
Category:Andean mummies Category:Archaeological discoveries in Chile