BOTANICAL MUSEUM LEAFLETS 
HARVARD UNIVERSITY 
CamspripGr, MassacuusetTts, NoveMBER 10, 1952 Voi. 15, No. 9 
PLANT REMAINS FROM A PERUVIAN 
MUMMY BUNDLE 
BY 
MarGARET ASHLEY TOWLE 
INTRODUCTION 
THE primary purpose of this paper is to describe and 
identify, whenever possible, the plant remains included 
in a mummy bundle from Paracas, Peru. A secondary 
purpose is to compare these specimens with plant materi- 
als that have been recovered from other Paracas bundles 
and described in the literature. The mummy bundle 
under consideration (cat. no. 38-28-80/4107—4233)' was 
recovered in 1927 from the famous Paracas Necropolis 
on the southern coast of Peru, and was presented in 1938 
to the Peabody Museum of Harvard University by Mr. 
Nelson Rockefeller. I wish to express my appreciation 
to Dr. A. V. Kidder II, formerly of the Peabody Mu- 
seum, for the opportunity of studying the plant remains 
included in the bundle. I also wish to thank Dr. J. O. 
Brew, Director of the Peabody Museum, for generously 
placing at my disposal the manuscript notes and illustra- 
tions relative to the bundle itself. Further, I acknowl- 
edge with thanks the assistance given me in this study 
by the members of the staff of the Peabody Museum, 
the Botanical Museum and the Biological Laboratories 
of Harvard University. 
‘The catalogue numbers cited are those of the Peabody Museum 
of Harvard University. 
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