Picture of Skull and bones in a grave at Chauchilla cemetery (Chauchilla, Peru)

Skull of deceased at Chauchilla cemetery

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Lying at the foot of bare hills in an empty stretch of pampa, the Chauchilla cemetery contains well-preserved mummies of the Nazca era in their original graves.
The Nazcans used to wrap their deceased in embroidered cotton cloth and applied resin as a cover, after which they were put into a crouched position in specially dug family graves. All deceased were placed looking east. The dry climate resulted in natural mummification and turned the dead into testimonies of their own culture long after they died. Over time, grave robbers have been searching for these graves and have plundered the contents in search for treasures. Until recently, the pampa of Chauchilla was littered with bones, skulls, cloth; fortunately, the area has been organized and most of the remains have been placed in tombs again. Still, when you look a little closer, the pampa itself contains a lot of bones and pieces of cloth. It is thus that we can see it now - covered graves giving us insight in how the Nazca culture tended to their dead.
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