Three pre-Hispanic mummies (two adults and one infant), repatriated from the Vatican City in 2022, have been declared Cultural Heritage of the Nation by the Peruvian
Ministry of Culture, due to their historical, scientific, and social value.
In its corresponding report, the
General Directorate of Museums indicates that movable property, due to its characteristics, cranial remodeling, and mortuary rope treatment —which are practices typical of pre-Hispanic societies in the central Andes over a period of time— are part of the historical past of those that are currently missing.
In addition, the report states that they provide data on burial patterns and mortuary treatment in populations associated with the late horizon in the eastern part of the central Andes.
It also indicated that the mummies have relevant social significance, since their recovery constitutes an effort on the part of the Peruvian State to promote repatriation and protection of cultural heritage, as well as the will of foreign governments to return cultural heritage to its place of origin.
As is known,
the mummies returned to Peru following an initiative launched by the Vatican, and the coordination carried out by the Culture sector and the
Ministry of Foreign Affairs with ecclesial authorities of the Holy See.
In 2015, the Ministry of Culture was informed by the Vatican about the possession of these three mummies within its collection of assets at the
Vatican Ethnological Museum, and through its director,
Fray Nicola Mapelli.
Since then, close coordination was established with the Peruvian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Culture for the repatriation of the three movable assets.
The aforementioned mummified human remains are of an archaeological nature, which, according to a technical report carried out by experts at the National Museum of Archaeology, Anthropology and History, in 2017, based on the review of images sent by the Vatican museum, belong to three individuals: two adults and one infant, whose gender and age are unknown.
(END) JCB/MAO/RMB/MVB
Publicado: 14/2/2024