Chile seeks help to protect world's oldest mummies
Chile seeks help to protect world's oldest mummies
Fri Oct 28, 2016 | 1:51am IST
Chilean researchers are seeking conservation aid to protect a collection of mummified human remains found in northern Chile, the oldest mummies discovered in the world to date.
The nearly 300 "Chinchorro" mummies, which have been recovered in recent years from the dry coastal area near the Peru border, are thought to date from between 5000 BC to 1500 BC.
"The dates that we have for the bodies are from 7,000 years ago ... so they have more relative antiquity in terms of intentional work on the human body than that found in Egypt," said Sergio Medina Parra, anthropologist and department head at University of Tarapaca in the northern city of Arica.
Medina is leading an attempt to get the Chinchorro mummies recognised by UN heritage body UNESCO as a world heritage site.
More:
http://in.reuters.com/article/chile-mummies-idINKCN12R2OI
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