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The Tres Ventanas Mummies of P eru
Author(s) -
Wann L. Samuel,
Lombardi Guido,
Ojeda Bernadino,
Benfer Robert A.,
Rivera Ricardo,
Finch Caleb E.,
Thomas Gregory S.,
Thompson Randall C.
Publication year - 2015
Publication title -
the anatomical record
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.678
H-Index - 62
eISSN - 1932-8494
pISSN - 1932-8486
DOI - 10.1002/ar.23137
Subject(s) - cave , context (archaeology) , geography , adaptation (eye) , archaeology , biology , neuroscience
The Tres Ventanas mummies of Peru are thought to be among the oldest mummies in existence, dating to between 8,000 and 10,000 years ago. A preliminary assessment is made of the potential of these mummies for use in future research on mummified remains. Although the Tres Ventanas cave and the four mummies were explored and then excavated by Frederic Engel in 1966–67, and the project is named in his honor as the “Engel Study Group”, the importance of both the physical remains and the context in which they were found has only come to light in the last few years. Most important is the paleopathological examination of these remains, since these mummies are found in a high altitude area of Peru where adaptation to the limited partial pressure of oxygen is perhaps a key component in broadening our understanding of human diversity in past populations. Anat Rec, 298:1026–1035, 2015. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.