Archaeologists Discover Mummy of A Young Priestess In Peru

An archaeological dig has uncovered the mummy of a young priestess, a member of the elite, with several precious items dating from the period of 300-450 AD in Cahuachi, Peru.

According to Giuseppe Orefici, director of the Nasca Project, the girl must have been an important person. She would have been between 12 and 14 at her time of death and was found inside a series of rooms between the Great Pyramid and what is known as the Orange Pyramid. The building would have shaped a small temple that had 4 columns holding up its roof.

Giuseppe Orefici, said that the archaeologists had to remove a layer or reeds and ropes that wrapped the burial.The body appeared to have been painted and found with an additional vertebra added.

She also had slightly malformed forearms, apparently something self-inflicted by having the arms extended vertically for long periods of time – perhaps as a result of a praying.

She was covered with finely woven fabric that had designs of orcas (killer whales) found in the southern pacific and had obsidian arrow heads.

But the most striking objects are the jewels found in the bundle.

Of these one in particular stands out; an extraordinary golden nose ring bathed in silver, which was found on her nose when uncovered.Also found were necklaces and bracelets of precious spondylus shells among other precious items.

Inquisitively there were also dozens of heads of birds of prey with their beaks tied closed with fine strings, just some accompanied by their full bodies. Also found were a number of ceramic items, finely decorated with geometric patterns.

Although there is much to discover about the supposed priestess, researchers have started the journey by trying to decode the meaning of the burial objects.

The find has been taken to the city of Nazca where it is being studied by anthropologist and physicist Andrea Drusini from the University of Padua.