A RARE well-preserved mummy of a young Incan girl is being returned to its native homeland of Bolivia.
The 500-year-old mummy nicknamed ‘Princess’ is notable for having braided hair that looks “recently combed” – but was controversially removed from her resting place in the 19th century.
The mummy was found in the Andean highlands near La Paz, Bolivia in the late 19th century.
And was donated to Michigan State University Museum in 1890, where she was exhibited for decades.
But as controversy around the mummy grew, the mysterious Incan girl was removed from exhibits 30 years ago – and placed into storage.
Now MSU has delivered the mummy back to Bolivia, laying her to rest with “her home nation and people”.
The Incan mummy has proved a highly valuable archaeological find, because she’s so well-preserved.
Experts describe how the girl’s black hair appears as though it was recently braided.
And the mummy’s hands are still clinging to small feathers.
It’s believed that “Princess” was aged eight when she died, and was buried in a dress made from llama fur.
“She came from south of LaPaz, Bolivia, and had originally been placed in a stone tomb, or chullpa, along with a variety of accoutrements,” said William Lovis, a professor of anthropology at Michigan State University.
“[They] included pouches, bags, a small clay jar, sandals, beads, feathers and several types of plants including maize, beans, grᴀsses, kapok and coca.”
Experts named the mummy Ñusta, which is the local Quechuan word for “princess”.
However, it’s impossible to say whether she really was royalty – despite her noble burial.
We do have a good idea of her age though, with experts suggesting the mummy is dated between 500 and 600 years ago.
“In order to ᴀssess the age of the burial, which was reputed to be ‘Pre Columbian’ and ‘Inca’, I had the maize from a pouch radiocarbon dated,” said Professor Lovis.
“[This] revealed that it was as old as the second half of the 15th century, corroborating the likelihood of the tomb burial predating Columbus’s arrival — and prior to the Spanish conquest of the Inca.”
Inca Empire – the key facts
Here’s what you need to know…
- The Inca Empire was the largest empire in pre-Columbian America
- It was believed to have had the most advanced political and administrative structure of the time
- The civilisation is believed to have come from the Peruvian highlands sometime in the early 13th century
- And its last stronghold was conquered by the Spanish in 1572
- At its height, the empire included Peru, southwest Ecuador, western and south central Bolivia, northwest Argentina, a large chunk of Chile and a small part of southwest Colombia
- The language spoken by Incan people was Quechua, which still persists today through the central Andes
- Incan leaders encouraged the worship of Inti, a sun god
- And Incan kings were considered to be “sons of the sun” – and were known as the Sapa Inca
Fine art carriers US Art delivered the mummy from the MSU Museum to the Bolivian embᴀssy in Washington DC on January 22, 2019.
And “Princess” has now been returned to La Paz in Bolivia, where she was originally taken from.
“While I am now quite pleased and personally gratified that the physical transfer is complete, my continuing goal, in retirement, is to make the information we acquired available to Bolivia and other interested audiences, and to continue my collaboration with the National Archaeology Museum in LaPaz,” said Professor Lovis.
Three-fingered ‘alien mummy’ dug up in Peru could be new species of human
In other mummy news, Tutankhamun’s “cursed” golden sarcophagus has been pictured outside its tomb for the first time ever.
An Ancient Egyptian tomb filled with mummies has been “cut into pieces” by archaeologists.
And archaeologists have revealed the earliest known infant cemetery in the world.
What do you think of this spooky mummy? Let us know in the comments!
