Museo Colón 10

In 2004, skeletal remains were discovered by a construction company excavating foundations for a new hotel in Arica, Chile.

They originally planned to move the remains to a museum in a neighboring town, but eventually decided to keep the site intact and build a museum around it.

That’s why Museo Colón 10 is named for its address on Colón Street, right at the base of the path leading to the top of El Morro, the big mountain overlooking town.

This archaeological discovery was quite a surprise. A house stood here for over a hundred years, but no one realized it was on top of an 4,000-year-old cemetery.

In all, 48 bodies were found during the excavations. As you can see from my photos, visitors are able to view these skeletal remains through the glass and floor.

The ancient Chinchorro people buried their dead with heads facing south. Several bodies show evidence of artificial mummification, along with painted hair and wigs, while others seem to have simply been buried, with no preservation intended.

The Chinchorro bodies lack cavities, but the teeth are worn down from chewing food with sand residue in it. They were fishermen, and since the ears show bony growths, this indicates they spent a lot of time underwater, as divers.

The two wooden items seen here were simply described as ritual items. The black mask was part of a manmade mummy. The Chinchorro people created masks for the face and attached a wig of human hair to it with mud.

The reason a cemetery is located here is because the ancient Chinchorro people made pilgrimages for rituals (including funerals) to El Morro.Read more