Pre-Incan Wari mummy unearthed in Peru

In an upscale Lima neighborhood called Miraflores, there’s a pre-Incan mud brick temple called Huaca Pucllana. Archaeologists excavating it have now found the first intact Wari burial on the site, and it includes a female mummy complete with a snazzy death mask, plus the remains of two other adults and a child.

The Wari people lived and ruled in what is now Peru for some 500 years, between 600 AD and 1100 AD. Their capital was near modern-day Ayacucho, in the Andes, but they traveled widely and are known for their extensive network of roads. […]

Small children were often sacrificed and it is common to find their bodies alongside adult ones. The child discovered with the adult mummies at Huaca Pucllana was likely sacrificed.

The discovery at Huaca Pucllana confirms the Wari people buried their dead in what is now Lima and offers a more complete picture of how burials were done. “This enriches Lima’s story,” Flores said.

The mummy dates to approximately 700 A.D., researchers say.