In Lima, Peru, in the Puente Piedra district, a pre-Inca mummy estimated to be around 1,000 years old was unearthed by public service workers. The discovery occurred in June 2025 during the excavation of a trench for a natural gas pipeline expansion.
The mummy was found buried in a shallow grave, approximately half a meter below the surface. The body was in a seated position, wrapped in fabric, with well-preserved dark brown hair.
According to archaeologists, particularly Jesús Bahamonde, the mummy likely belonged to a society of fishermen from the Chancay culture, which inhabited the central coast of Peru between 1000 and 1470 AD.
Lima is located in a valley irrigated by three rivers flowing from the Andes and was inhabited by human civilizations thousands of years before the arrival of the Spanish. Today, the city is home to over 400 archaeological sites, many of which are closely intertwined with the modern urban environment.
Archaeologists note that mummies on the Peruvian coast often are naturally preserved due to the arid and hot climate. Also, cultural mummification was common among pre-Inca peoples, in which bodies were often buried in a seated position, wrapped in fabrics, sometimes with their hands covering their faces.