[Aztlan] Chinchorro mummies study

[michael ruggeri]

Listeros,

Geologist John Van Hoesen will be researching the Chinchorro mummies in Chile. They pre-date the Egyptian ones as they are dated to 3000-5000 BCE. The Chinchorro skinned their dead, disassembled the bodies, made a reed frame and sewed the skin back on. They then covered the mummies with manganese clay. The clay they used contained manganese. The nearest manganese is 60-80 kilometers away and that distance would have forced them to carry water. Van Hoesen will do chemical tests on the manganese on the mummies and at the remote sites to see if they match. He will also study two river beds in the area to see if manganese washed upstream closer to them.

The Rutland Herald has the story here;
http://www.rutlandherald.com/article/20100131/NEWS01/1310370/1002/NEWS01

Mike Ruggeri

Mike Ruggeri's Andean Archaeology News and Links
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