Chachapoyas Mummies: Evidence of Cultural Contact and Influence

Chachapoyas Mummy (Guillen, 2004)

 

The Chachapoyas are a pre-Columbian group that resided in the northeastern regions of Peru from AD 800-1470.  The name Chachapoyas may not have been their own but instead given to them by their Inca conquerors.  The name means either wild men of the forest (in reference to how the Inca characterized them, as fierce warriors and farmers) or the people of the clouds (made in reference to the high cliffs in the Amazonian basin their villages existed upon).  The Chachapoyas maintained their own culture and traditions until they were conquered by the Inca in 1470, in which case several changes occurred as a result.  One of those changes is the focus of this blog post: the changes to their mortuary traditions.  These will be discussed in depth herein.

Prior to the Inca conquest the Chachapoyas, who resided in the tropical Amazonian rainforest of Peru, practiced their own mortuary traditions.  These involved secondary burials that occurred after the bodies naturally decomposed.  It is believed that the bones of commoners were collected and wrapped in tight bundles, while the bodies of the elites were interred in anthropomorphic sarcophagi, chullpas (mortuary houses), under houses, and in walls. 

After the Chachapoyas were conquered, however, their mortuary traditions changed drastically.  The Chachapoyas began practicing mummification, much like the Inca, but the traditions between the Inca and the Chachapoyas were quite different.  The Inca, who resided in the Andean highlands, had the benefit of optimal environmental conditions that allowed for spontaneous, or natural mummification.  The Chachapoyas lived in a tropical environment, which inhibited natural mummification or easy preservation of the bodies of any dead.  Therefore, the Chachapoyas had to manipulate the bodies to produce mummies, a process known as anthropogenic mummification.  

Chachapoyas Mummies (Nystrom et al., 2005)

  

This process is believed to have taken place in a different area where conditions were optimal to allow for a drying out of the body.  The process was quickened by the removal of the lower internal organs (e.g. stomach, intestines, bladder, liver, etc.), which were confiscated through either the anus or vagina.  This hole was plugged with seeds and cloth, and the mouth and nostrils were filled with cotton, as well, so as to maintain the natural form of the face.  A cloth scarf was wrapped around the neck in order to keep the head up.  The body was then wrapped in a series of natural colored cloths made of cotton and/or vegetal matter, which acted as an additional means of preserving the body.  The body was then laid to rest in the chullpas, replacing the original Chachapoyas burials that existed in the mortuary house. 

The Inca-Chachapoyas mummification practices were completed on men, women, and children.  It is believed that this was reserved for only elites, particularly those loyal to the Inca.  This, however, is only conjecture at this point.  Further study into the Chachapoyas is necessary to gain further insights into their mortuary and other cultural traditions.  What is clear is that Inca contact with the Chachapoyas changed their way of life, particularly in regards to their mortuary traditions, and it is suspected that it affected other ways of life, as well.

Bibliography

Friedrich, K. M., Nemec, S., Czerny, C., Fischer, H., Plischke, S., Gahleitner, A., ... & Guillen, S. (2010). The story of 12 Chachapoyan mummies through multidetector computed tomography. European journal of radiology, 76(2), 143-150.

Guillén, S. E. (2004). Artificial mummies from the Andes. Collegium antropologicum, 28(2), 141-157.

Nystrom, K. C., Buikstra, J. E., & Muscutt, K. (2010). Chachapoya mortuary behavior: A consideration of method and meaning. Chungara, Revista de Antropología Chilena, 42(2).

Nystrom, K. C., Goff, A., & Goff, M. L. (2005). Mortuary behaviour reconstruction through palaeoentomology: a case study from Chachapoya, Perú. International Journal of Osteoarchaeology, 15(3), 175-185.