Plomo Mummy

Common card · No. 409473

The Plomo Mummy (also known as the Boy of El Plomo, El Plomo Mummy, or La Momia del Cerro El Plomo) is the exceptionally well-preserved frozen mummy of an Inca boy who died during a qhapaq hucha sacrifice on Cerro El Plomo near Santiago, Chile, in the late 15th century. Discovered on 1 February 1954, he became one of the earliest major discoveries of a high-altitude Inca sacrificial mummy. His body, clothing, grave goods, internal organs, braided hair and painted facial markings were preserved by the cold, dry conditions of the high Andes. The mummy is cared for by the National Museum of Natural History in Santiago, where a replica has been displayed since 1982 while the original remains in climate-controlled storage.

Read on Wikipedia · Image Jason Quinn, CC BY-SA 3.0