PERUVIAN MUMMIES AND WHAT THEY TEACH. 

 By Charles W. Mead, 



Department of Ethnology. 



INCIENT 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 mportance 



. r r of the 



sources of information a study of graves or tombs may be Burials 



expected to lead to important results. Fortunately for the 

 archaeologist, 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. 1 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 



1 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. 



