306 



sun ; and all the utensils, pots, &c. were buried with him, 

 forming a semicircle in front." 



Tradition reports, that these were the bodies of the an- 

 cient Peruvians, buried before the invasion of the Spaniards ; 

 and it is also said, that remains similar to those are found on 

 the eastern side of the mountains, having their faces turned 

 to the rising sun, but still in the same sitting posture. 



Dr. Wilde then exhibited a drawing by Mr. Wakeman, 

 showing the state in which the mummy had been received, 

 and continued : " This drawing shows the condition in 

 which the mummy was found, bound up in a cloak, or 

 outer garment, fitting so as to give a tolerably accurate 

 idea of the posture in which it was placed ; and over this 

 was wrought a net of rushes, or other such substance, 

 with large meshes, in the manner of a purse, wound several 

 times round the neck and ankles, without covering the head 

 or feet." 



Dr. Wilde observed, that it was a practice of the ancient 

 Egyptians to bind their mummies tightly round the neck and 

 feet, and produced an example in which the diameter of the 

 neck did not exceed two inches. " On cleaning and repair- 

 ing this outer garment, cloak, or poncho, it was found to be 

 composed of a complete web of cloth, formed apparently of 

 the wool of the Lama. In texture it resembles several of 

 the specimens of the Egyptian linen which I found in the 

 catacombs at Sakara, the character of which depends upon 

 the great tightness of the threads of the weft, and looseness 

 of the warp, arising from the imperfection of the loom, and 

 use of a ruler instead of a shuttle in weaving — a practice 

 formerly used in Egypt, (as shown by the plates of Rosel- 

 lini,) — found still extant in Mexico by Dr. Coulter, and 

 noticed by myself in Barbary and Judea." 



This garment, which is exceedingly simple in form, con- 

 sists of a web, doubled and sewn together at the sides, ex- 

 cept for a short distance at top, where openings were left for 



