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The Fascinating Afterlife of Peru's Mummies

smithsonianmag.com · 1,952 words · saved by 1 readers

In 1533 the first Spaniards to reach Cusco, capital of the sprawling Inca Empire, discovered temples covered with gold plates, altars and fountains similarly glimmering and architecture whose stonework rivaled or surpassed anything comparable in Europe. But the greatest surprise came when two soldiers entered one well-constructed palace of a dead emperor and found that he and his deceased wife were—in the eyes of the Inca—still alive. In the palace’s inner sanctum they found an old woman wearing a gold mask, waving a fan to keep flies off the immobile pair. The couple were no longer breathing but sat upright, perfectly mummified. They and their attendants wanted for nothing: Family members interpreted their wishes and benefited from the wealth the dead still owned. During holy festivals the dead ancestors were paraded behind the living emperor, their history and achievements adding to those of the living. Of this, the Spaniards would learn later. At the time, the soldiers deferred to t

Smithsonian Journeys Travel Quarterly: Inca Road A Smithsonian magazine special report Ancient mummified bodies stand guard over windswept deserts near the Nazca and Ica mountain summits. © Charles Rennie/Robert Harding World Imagery/Corbis In 1533 the first Spaniards to reach Cusco, capital of the sprawling Inca Empire, discovered temples covered with gold plates, altars and fountains similarly glimmering and architecture whose stonework rivaled or surpassed anything comparable in Europe. But the greatest surprise came when two soldiers entered one well-constructed palace of a dead emperor an

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