Archaeologists Find 1,000-Year-Old Mummy Buried at Top of Huge Pyramid

A mummy thought to be around 1,000 years old has been discovered in Peru.

Researchers discovered the mummy, which belonged to the pre-Inca Ychsma culture, during excavations at the Huaca Pucllana archaeological site, newspaper Perú 21 reported.

The mummy was buried in a simple, circular grave at the top of the pyramid, which is located in the heart of a residential area in the Peruvian capital of Lima. Huaca Pucllana is a large clay pyramid standing more than 70 feet tall in the city's Miraflores district.

The structure, which features seven staggered platforms, was constructed by the Lima culture that developed on the Peruvian central coast between A.D. 200 and 700.

The site served as an important ceremonial center for these ancient people. Other activities, possibly administrative, may have been carried out at the site, but the evidence suggests that its main purpose was for ritual activities.

The site has three clearly defined periods of occupation in the era before Spanish colonization. The original occupation involved the Lima culture, a civilization that constructed and inhabited Huaca Pucllana between A.D. 400 and 700.

Next up was the Huari culture, which used the site between A.D. 800 and 900.

Finally, evidence of Ychsma occupation at Huaca Pucllana has been found starting from early in the second millennium. This was the last pre-Hispanic occupation of the site.

The Ychsma culture, which developed in the region around A.D. 1000 before being absorbed into the Inca Empire in the 15th century, appeared to have used Huaca Pucllana as a burial ground.

As part of excavations conducted this year, archaeologists found an individual tomb with human remains at the top of the pyramid associated with the Ychsma culture. To create the tomb, part of the structure had to be destroyed, the Huaca Pucllana site museum said in a statement.

Archaeologists found the individual inside the tomb sitting in a flexed sitting position, with his face facing south.

The body was wrapped in a simple fabric, of which only some parts have been preserved. The grave also contained several other artifacts, including ceramic vessels, which enabled archaeologists to date the burial to the early years of the Ychsma culture.

Mummies and ancient offerings have been found before at the Huaca Pucllana site. But previously discovered artifacts from Ychsma burials at the site have not featured the type of decoration found on those in the newly uncovered grave.

"I find it quite interesting that right in the heart of Miraflores, in the middle of the city, surrounded by modern buildings and constructions, an important site such as the Huaca Pucllana ceremonial center is still preserved," Mirella Ganoza, an archaeologist with the Huaca Pucllana Site Museum, told Perú 21.