Scientists have unearthed the body of a 4,500-year-old woman in Peru. What’s surprising is that they found not just her bones, but strands of hair, patches of skin, and even fingernails intact. Such well-preserved natural mummies are extremely rare.

The woman was about 35 years old at the time of death. She lived in Áspero, a fishing village once home to the Caral civilization, one of the oldest cultures in the Americas. This civilization thrived in Peru’s Supe Valley between 3000 and 1800 BCE. It’s often called the earliest known society in the Americas, predating even the Maya and Inca. 

The Carals built pyramids, practiced agriculture, and developed trade routes along the coast, and they did all of this without pottery or weapons of war, which makes them a fascinating case in human history.

The recently discovered remains are important not just due to their excellent preservation, but also for what they highlight about gender roles in ancient societies. The careful burial and ceremonial items indicate that this woman held a position of respect and influence. This challenges the long-standing belief that leadership in early societies was mostly limited to men.

“What has been discovered corresponds to a woman who apparently had elevated status, an elite woman,” David Palomino, one of the researchers and an archaeologist, told AFP.

So many interesting grave goods

A team of archaeologists from the Caral Archaeological Zone (Zona Arqueológica Caral or ZAC) was excavating a partially collapsed ceremonial building at the historical Áspero archaeological site. This is when they found a woman’s skeleton placed in a flexed position, with her knees drawn to her chest. 

It was carefully wrapped in layers of materials, including cotton fabric, woven plant fibers, and baskets made of reeds. Alongside the skeleton, her long black hair was still in place, as were sections of her facial skin and nails. 

The researchers suggest that the dry coastal environment, lack of oxygen in burial layers, and the protective wrappings created an environment where bacteria and fungi couldn’t break down the soft tissues, leading to an exceptionally well-preserved body.

Moreover, the body was surrounded by beads, seashells, woolen cloth, fishing net, weaving tools, carved figurines, and 30 sweet potatoes. Many of these objects are associated with ceremonial or elite use, suggesting the woman had an important role in her community. She may have been a spiritual leader, healer, or someone of political importance. 

However, this woman isn’t the first high-status Caral individual unearthed in Áspero. In 2016 and 2019, archaeologists discovered the remains of two other elite individuals buried just ten and four feet away from her burial site.

“This discovery adds to other elite burials at Áspero: the “Lady of the Four Tupus” (2016), located 3 meters to the north, and the “Elite Man” (2019), found 1.25 meters to the north,” the Peruvian ministry of culture, states in a press release.

There is much more to know about the Carals

The ancient city of Caral (also known as Caral-Supe) was discovered in 1904, but it became widely known in 1994 after archaeologist Ruth Shady Solís (who also led the team that unearthed the elite woman) began excavating the region. 

“When I first arrived in the valley in 1994, I was overwhelmed. This place is somewhere between the seat of the gods and the home of man,” Solís told Smithsonian.

Compared to the Maya and Inca civilizations, there is limited information available about the Carals. This makes the recently unearthed skeleton and grave goods valuable findings. They could help fill in many of the gaps in our understanding of this ancient culture.

For instance, many of the objects found around the elite women are made from materials not found locally. They were possibly sourced from other regions. This indicated that the Carals shared intercultural connections and trade relationships with other societies.

To learn more, the researchers plan to conduct DNA analysis of the woman’s remains and study the materials of the grave goods in more detail. These could offer deeper insights into the Caral people’s ancestry, lifestyle, and their connections with other ancient societies.