While Egyptian mummies are the most famous, the oldest known mummies belong to the Chinchorro people of Chile's Atacama Desert, dating back 7,000 years. The Chinchorro began mummifying their dead around 5,000 BCE, 2,000 years before the Egyptians.
The Chinchorro were marine hunter-gatherers who lived on the Pacific coast of the Atacama from approximately 5450 BCE to 890 BCE. Their cemeteries, found in the Arica and Parinacota regions, were inscribed on the Unesco World Heritage List in 2021 for their archaeological value. Unlike Egyptian practices, mummification was not reserved for the elite but was a ritual for all members of society.
Bernardo Arriaza, a physical anthropologist at the University of Tarapacá, described the mummies as 'true pre-Hispanic works of art' reflecting the emotions of ancient populations. The bodies are buried close to the surface, and residents of Arica have long been aware of them. In 2004, workers excavating for a hotel found bones less than a metre underground, leading to the site being turned into a museum.
The soil in the Atacama contains high levels of naturally occurring arsenic, which likely contributed to a high death rate and many miscarriages. The Chinchorro also painted their bodies with toxic manganese, inadvertently damaging their health. Despite living on an ancient necropolis, locals view the mummies as ancestors and themselves as caretakers. Fisherman Jorge Ardiles said, 'We are the contemporary Chinchorros at this very moment.'
