68 THIRD FLOOR, SOUTHWEST WING 



skulls, this undoubtedly being considered a mark of beauty. It necessitated 

 the binding of the head in infancy. 



The wall case at the left of the entrance contains mummy bundles, 

 showing the burial customs of the Peruvians. In no part of America are 

 found so many and so extensive burial places as in the coast 

 Bundl s region of Peru. Here were interred countless thousands of 



the ancient dead. In the huacos or graves, with the bodies, 

 were placed such articles as had been most useful and highly prized during 

 life, £nd such it was considered would be most serviceable in a future life. . 



PERUVIAN MUMMY BUNDLES 



The ancient Peruvians wrapped their dead in fabrics of fine linen and wool, then cov- 

 ering with a sack of strong cloth. The mummy "bundle" thus produced was often 

 given a "false head" of cloth filled with vegetable fibre. Climatic conditions in Peru 

 have preserved these mummies and their wrappings during many centuries 



To this custom we are indebted for no small part of our knowledge of 

 the daily life of the ancient Peruvians. From the mummy bundles and 

 graves all the objects in the extensive collections in this hall, illustrating the 

 civilization of the Incas, have been obtained. The wonderful state of 



