Nevada County Picayune and Gurdon Times Newspaper Archive

Rotarians Learn Of Excavation

Normally hearing how someone spent their summer vacation can be compared to, say, having root canal work done with no anesthesia.

Actually, most people would prefer the dental work given a choice.

In the case of Don Ross, though, it was different. Ross had the opportunity to travel through time, so to speak, and visit a land where mummies were found.

Ross, an archaeologist with Henderson State University, went to Peru on a dig through pre-Inca ruins.

Bodies found, he told the Gurdon Rotary Club, were mummified, much like they were in Egypt.

In Peru, though, the bodies were intentionally buried in the hot, dry sand because the fertile soil was valuable in raising crops.

The people learned the sand preserved the bodies and began mummification to preserve the bodies of their leaders for the afterlife.

When these people were conquered by the Inca, the Inca discovered the mummies and took up the practice as well.

The dig Ross went on occurred because a nearby town needed water and was running a pipeline through the area when the gravesite was found.

Bodies were removed for historical purposes and to prevent them from being stolen and sold on the black market.

Pathologist, Ross said, will study some of the bodies to see what cause their deaths and see what else can be learned. DNA experts went to the site and took samples as well.

According to Ross, the site had been desecrated by the colonial Spanish explorers, who took gold and silver from the graves and bodies. However, the pottery was left alone.

Several pieces, he said, were found intact, as were other artifacts, such as baskets and bowls.

Ross said the bodies found were mostly those of adults. The bodies were curled into the fetal position fully clothed and wrapped for mummification.

From the site, Ross said, it was learned the original settlers were peaceful. They were integrated into the Inca civilization when conquered by the more organized Inca Indians.

The Inca, Ross told the Rotarians, did not massacre smaller tribes, but subjugated them, leaving their leaders in charge, so long as the chief did as he was told by the Incas.

Many of the bowls and pots found contained remains of food, mostly corn and beans, though some llama bones were found.

The site, he said, was near the Chilean border in a desolate area. However, olive trees planted there by the Spanish still bloom and bear fruit.