Inca Mummies Unearthed in Peru

VOA News
06 Mar 2004, 03:34 UTC
AP

From: http://www.voanews.com/article.cfm?objectID=D589C50D-49C6-438B-889353BE839EE9F7

Archeologists say at least 22 Incan mummies have been discovered on the outskirts of the Peruvian capital, Lima.
Archeologist Guillermo Cock said the mummies are more than 500 years old. They originate from the period between 1470 and 1530.

Mr. Cock said the spot where the mummies were discovered is part of the largest pre-Colombian cemetery in Peru. He said city planners arranged the excavation because the site is in the path of a planned highway.

Archeologists say they do not know the exact number of mummies on the spot because they have not opened the burial bundles in which they are swathed. The bundles, some of which have been broken open, are made up of bones and decaying shrouds.

The Incas inhabited an area stretching from Colombia down to Chile. They were defeated by Spanish conquistadors in the 1530s.

Archeologists have unearthed thousands of mummies in Peru in recent years.