150 Mummies of Ancient Unknown Civilization Discovered in Atacama Desert

A team of archaeologists from universities in Poland, Peru and Colombia have discovered 150 mummies in the Atacama Desert belonging to an unknown culture that predate the Tiwanaku and Inca civilization by almost 500 years.

The bodies were mummified naturally by being buried directly in the sand with no stone structures, wrapped in cotton veils, reed mats or fishing nets, and radiocarbon dating shows that the oldest mummies came from 4th century AD, while the youngest mummies came from 7th century AD.

Image left: A mummy with an elongated skull in a curled up position.

Image right: A shroud covering a mummy in the Tamba river delta.

The Tiwanaku civilisation is believed to have existed between 500AD and 1,000 AD, covering much of what is Peru and Chile today. See more extra large photos at ib.times