Morro 1-5 (Arica). Momias y sociedades complejas del Arcaico de los Andes Centrales

Abstract

Morro 1-5 (Arica). Mummies and Complex Societies in South Central Andes

The comparative study of a series of 17 mummies from the Morro 1-5 site in Arica, Chile, is used to discuss the adaptation of the Chinchorro culture of the Archaic period in the South Central Andes. Issues related to the origin and distribution of cultural traits such as artificial mummification and its tipology of forms, as well as biological aspects such as craniometric and epigenetic traits, are íntegrated in the presentation of one of the oldest, most efficient and complex adaptations to the fragile environment of the desertic coast of the South Central Andes.