The University of Tarapacá in Chile, confirmed the exhibition of the mummies of the Chinchorro culture at the Jade Museum in Costa Rica from May 11 to May 31.

The ancient mummies of the Chinchorro culture are over 7000 years old. The Chinchorros inhabited what is now northern Chile, the coast of the Atacama Desert from Ilo in Peru all the way to Antofagasta in Chile, they lived off fishing, hunting and the gathering of shellfish.

The exhibition is possible thanks to the alliance with the Chile embassy in Costa Rica and the Direction of Cultural Affairs of the Ministry of International Relations of Chile, with the purpose of giving international recognition to the Chinchorro Culture and its nomination to get recognized as World Heritage by UNESCO.

The following information regarding the archaeological sites of the Chinchorro Culture was extracted from the WHC.UNESCO.ORG website:

“The best testimonies of this development are found at the mouth of the Camarones River. The Chinchorro groups kept on hunting in nearby places and exploiting its resources, but since their main nourishment came from the sea, they settled at the coast, iiving in houses built over circular hollows dig in the soil to which wind-shields were attached. Near their houses, they deposited their wastes, specially shells, and buried many of their dead, whose bodies they wished to preserved. Thus, 3000 years before Egypt, they developed a mummification technique, creating a tradition lasting about 4000 years and which has been named Chinchorro. The oldest mummification method consisted in skinning the body -at first only of children, then of people of all conditions-, and taking out the organs from the cavities, including the brain and the main muscles of the extremities. Then, the body was dried by means of hot coals and ashes, kept rigid with sticks tied with ropes made of plant fibers, and reconstructed filling the cavities with dirt, wool, feathers and piants. Arms and legs were remade with layers of clay, to finally put the skin as if it were a glove, sewing it with human hair or vegetable thread. They made a wig with the hair of the dead person, and reconstructed the face putting on them a mask made of white, black or red clay. The body was painted of red and black colors elaborated from iron and manganese oxide, respectively. Later on, the mummification technique was simplified, covering the body with a layer of a substance made of sand and organic material. Eventually, the process ended in the use of only the facial mask. Both this conception of death and the way of life associated to these groups of people – fishing-, faded with the course of time, probably due to the growing popularity of vegetable produces to which these people had access thanks to the first agricultural experiences in the inner valleys. The first traces of these groups of fishermen date back to the period immediateiy previous to the arrival of the Incas at the region. Afterwards, they are known by the name of Changos. This society, however, did not follow the mortuary traditions of their ancestors.