
THE PERUVIANS 85 
of this continent in prehistoric times. Unlike the ancient peoples of 
Mexico and Central America the Peruvians had no written language. 
They were tillers of the soil and raised maize, potatoes, oca, quinua, 
beans, coca, and cotton. They had domesticated the llama, which was 
used asa beast of burden. They excelled in the manufacture and decora- 
tion of pottery vessels, in metal work, and in textile fabrics. In the case 
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PERUVIAN MUMMY BUNDLES AND MUMMY 
The ancient Peruvians wrapped their dead in fabrics of fine cotton and wool, then covering with 
a sack of strong cloth. The mummy “bundle” thus produced was often given a ‘‘false head”’ of cloth 
filled with cotton or vegetable fibre. Climatic conditions in Peru have preserved these mummies and 
their wrappings during many centuries. 
directly in front of the entrance are displayed gold and silver objects, 
such as beads, cups, pins and ear ornaments, which show 
the high degree of skill attained in the beating, soldering 
and casting of metals. In weaving they were perhaps 
preeminent among prehistoric peoples, many of their specimens exhibited 
here being unsurpassed at the present day. The materials 
used were cotton and the wool of the llama, alpaca and 
vicuna. In the first cases on the right are examples of these textiles 
with looms and shuttles. [The musical instruments of ancient Peru 
are discussed in Guide Leaflet No. 11, and Guide Leaflet No. 46, Peruvian 
Art, deals with the meaning of the figures shown on textiles and pottery.] 
Gold and 
Silver 
Textiles 
