Mummified body with knees to chin, Peruvian or Chilean, 800-1400

Mummified body with knees to chin, covered with coarse cloth, with grave goods including bundles of yarn and red woven cords, Peruvian or Chilean, 800-1400

This preserved body was purchased on behalf of Henry Wellcome’s Historical Medical Museum from a London auction house in 1928 as part of a collection of five 'Peruvian mummies'. Further research is needed to confirm this individual’s cultural and geographical origins, but the burial position suggests it may originate from Chile.

It is wrapped in a coarse blanket. Around the body are grave goods to accompany the person into the afterlife, including two bundles of red yarn and thicker woven cords in black and white, possibly sling braids.