However, archaeologists still debate what name should be given to these elite women: were they priestesses, queens, curacas, shamans or goddesses?
In Peru there are many female representations from the pre-Columbian era, especially in ceramics, friezes, silver vessels, stories, figurines, looms, murals, etc.
Women served to organize daily life, giving meaning to religion, myths, and the stories themselves. That is why they are seen as symbols in drawings, riding the moon, copulating with jaguars (the divine animal par excellence), adorned and surrounded by people with headdresses and crowns.
Moving away from the pre-Columbian culture of Peru, it is normal that this skull was baptized as “Rapunzel”, because we only have to remember the characteristic hair of the fictional character.
It must be remembered that in the Grimm Brothers’ tale, Rapunzel’s hair was so long that she used it to escape from the tower, where the evil witch Gothel had locked her up.
The head known as “Rapunzel’s skull” is a discovery that draws attention for its extensive hair. According to the Museum of Archaeology, Anthropology and History of the UNT of Peru, the head is that of a priestess of approximately 50 years of age, a discovery that reaffirms the importance of women in the territory.
The hair attached to the skull of “Rapunzel” measures 2800 mm (2.80 m) long, and is dated to 2200 years ago (200 years before Christ).
The hair found in Nazca, Peru is made up of two buns wrapped in thin ropes made of the same hair, and as they are wound in a circular fashion, it is considered to be very fine and delicate work.
This complexity serves as a symbol to represent the status of the person. It is worth noting that crowns, staffs, scepters and other treasures have been found in the tombs of several women.
