Early mummies from coastal Peru and Chile

Abstract

The Andean area is one of the richest sources in the world for the studyof early man. Artificial mummification began nearly 10,000 years ago andthis was followed by millennia of natural mummification due to chedesert-like environment. It is possible to trace man's development inthis area from a hunter, fisherman, gatherer, within small kinshipgroups to that of a farmer with domesticated plants, and animals such asthe guinea pig, and cameloids living with the formation of elaboratecults and theocratic governments and eventually of large empires. Beliefin the afterlife Led to burials which gave a great deal of informationon the social and political structure of the societies and autopsies ofthe mummies that often contained all of their organs enable us to relatethe society and environment with the health of the differentindividuals. Thus we determined that th great: majority of diseases ofman were universal, bur at the same time it was seen that there werecertain geographic diseases chat in some cases chronic arsenic poisoningfor example were associated with thr environment or a particular vectorsuch as rhac of Bartonellosis, seen only in the Andean area. More recentstudies have had an emphasis on chemical analysis and these have beenuseful in reconstruction of diet as well as locating women who haverecently delivered children.