In a significant excavation, archaeologists in Lima, Peru, uncovered a mummy that was thought to be about 3,000 years old. Students from San Marcos University made the discovery after uncovering skull and hair fragments in a cotton bundle while excavating.
The mummy was probably from the Manchay culture, which developed in the valleys of Lima between 1500 and 1000 BC, archaeologist Miguel Aguilar said, and was associated with the construction of temples built in a U-shape that pointed towards the sunrise.
The person "had been left or offered (as a sacrifice) during the last phase of the construction of this temple," Aguilar said. "It is approximately 3,000 years old."
Archaeologists unearthed other items buried with the body, including corn, coca leaves, and seeds, which they believe may have been part of an offering.
According to the BBC, archaeologist Miguel Aguilar said they had removed eight tonnes of trash from the location before their careful search for historic remains began.
Mr Aguilar explained that the mummy had been placed in a tomb in the centre of such a U-shaped temple. He said the body had been laid out flat, which is characteristic of the Manchay culture of the "formative era", around 3,000 years ago.
The body was wrapped in cloth made from cotton and vegetable fibre.
The news outlet further wrote that mummification was practised by a variety of cultures in what is now Peru before the arrival of the Spanish conquistadors-people who travelled to the Americas as part of the Spanish conquest.
Some mummies were buried, many in foetal positions, while others were brought out and paraded during key festivals.
