12 



AMERICAN MUSEUM Cl'IDE LEAFLETS 



hydrous chloride of copper, which is much prized on account of its 

 easy reduction. The age of the mummy is unknown, hut it is sup- 

 posed to he pre-Columbian. 



The story told by the ohjects found with the Peruvian dead is in part 



TIT the story of ancient Peruvian life. The ohjects in the 



Weapons and • _ •' 



Implements Peruvian collection in the hall, most of which have 



come from graves and mummy bun- 

 dles, have been arranged so as to tell 

 part of this story. For example we 

 find with the bodies of men slings for 

 throwing stones, stone-headed clubs 

 and bolas i rounded stones joined by 

 cords), showing the weapons and im- 

 plements of war and the chase. With 

 the mummy bundle of the woman have 

 been found work-baskets, filled with 

 threads and yarns of various colors, 

 needles of thorn and copper, the im- 

 plements used in weaving, such as 

 spindles and shuttles, or the stones 

 used in smoothing and polishing the 

 outside of pottery vessels. Woman's 

 work in ancient Peru is indicated by 

 the presence or absence of objects 

 familiar to US of the present day. 

 Corn, beans and other foods were 

 usually placed beside the body in the 

 grave, together with vessels used in 

 eating and drinking. These ohjects 

 indicate not alone the belief of the 

 people in a future world and the ne- 

 cessity of sustaining the spirit in its 

 journey thereto, but they also show that the people were well advanced 

 in agriculture, and we are enabled to determine the kinds of plants 

 cultivated and in many cases even the methods by which they were pre- 

 pared for use. 



Furthermore the objects found in the graves prove that in the working 

 of copper, silver and gold the ancient Peruvians take high raid-;, and 



EAR OF CORN. FOUND WITH A MUMMY 



