PERUVIAN MUMMIES AND WHAT THEY TEACH. 
By CHARLES W. Merap, 
Department of Ethnology. 
N 
CIENT Peru, the land of the Incas, comprised not 
only the region included within the present Republic 
of Peru, but also the greater part of Ecuador, Bolivia 
and Chile and was about equal to that portion of the 
United States lying east of the Rocky Mountains. The 
Incas proper were a powerful tribe of warlike people 
inhabiting the great central plateau, from which dominating position 
they extended their conquest in all directions. They developed a 
much higher order of civilization than was found in other parts of the 
continent by the early European explorers, and the empire under their 
sway included many tribes speaking different dialects. 
The history of the Ancient Peruvians must to a large degree be read 
in their graves, since they left no written records and the Spanish con- 
queror destroyed many of. their cities and suppressed their customs. 
Like many other peoples the Peruvians bestowed much tender care on 
their dead, carefully preparing them for burial and placing with them 
in the ground many objects which were dear to them in life. Methods 
of burial are so intimately connected with the religious and 
other customs of a people that in the absence of other Be 
sources of information a study of graves or tombs may be Barinis 
expected to lead to important results. Fortunately for the 
archeologist, climatic conditions in some parts of Peru are such that 
“burials” have been well preserved. The region west of the Peru- 
vian Cordillera, a narrow strip along the coast, is in the main a desert, 
the only fertile spots being the narrow valleys of the small rivers flow- 
ing down to the Pacific. The tombs and graves are usually found 
on elevated places outside of the valleys where the extreme dryness of 
the air combines with the nitrous character of the sand, into which 
moisture has seldom found its way, to desiccate and preserve the bodies 
of the dead thus mummifying them naturally. The same factors have 
‘The visitor is referred to the relief map of South America on the left as he 
enters the hall for a clear exposition of the topographic features of the region. 
7 
