The Purunmachus sarcophagi
In the Amazonas region in Peru has been found 35 sarcophagi belonging to the Chachapoyas culture. Given the small size of the coffins, researchers think it was a children's cemetery. The burial site faces west, which is very unusual for Chachapoyas cemeteries.
The Chachapoyas culture, also called Cloud Warriors, was a powerful and mysterious civilization that flourished in approximately 800 AD, until shortly before the Spanish conquest of the New World, when they were conquered and incorporated into the Inca Empire. They occupied the Andean cloud forests of the Amazonas region of modern-day Peru, becoming known for their incredible sarcophagi called Purunmachu.
The sarcophagi were made with clay and then carefully decorated, painting their faces and bodies. Finally, they were lined up at the edge of the cliff like sentinels guarding the dead.
In 2013 new sarcophagi (35 in total) belonging to the Cloud Warriors were discovered, which measure only 70 centimeters in height, a factor that has led researchers to believe that the bodies of children are found inside and that this collection of purunmachus is a cemetery exclusively for those who are died at a young age. The sarcophagi were all oriented towards the west, which is unusual for Chachapoyas cemeteries.
The fascinating Purunmachus
The first purunmachus were discovered in 1928, when a strong earthquake shook the Utcubamba Valley in Peru, causing an enigmatic, 7-foot-tall, square-jawed clay statue to plummet from one of the hills surrounding the valley.
Soon the archaeologists realized that they were faced with an extremely rare discovery, as the statue was actually a sarcophagus, inside which there were the remains of an individual carefully wrapped in a cloth.
Radiocarbon dating then revealed that the body dated back to around 1470 BC, the time in which the Chachapoya people were overwhelmed by the Incas.
According to Adriana von Hagen, who conducted an in-depth study of the purunmachus, the sarcophagi were primarily erected along a low circular wall placed on a rock ledge. Then, the body of the deceased was wrapped in fabric and placed in the container.
Finally, the sarcophagus was painted white and decorated with necklaces, pectorals and feathers. The face and genitals were colored in shades of yellow and red. At the Carajia site, the conical tips of the purunmachus are completed with a human skull placed on top.
Several burial sites are embellished with pictograms representing herding or hunting scenes, flanked by human figures with rays coming from their heads, probably feathered headdresses.
After the discovery of the first purunmachus, archaeologists found several hundred of them, but all were damaged or tampered with. With the disappearance of the Chachapoya culture, the sarcophagi were no longer considered sacred and therefore most of them were desecrated and destroyed by looters looking for any riches that could be found inside.
The enigmatic Chachapoyas
The territory of the mysterious Chachapoyas was located in the northern regions of the Andes, in present-day Peru. The center of thispre-Columbian culture was near the Utcubamba River basin.
Archaeological findings suggest that the Chachapoyas settled in the region from 200 AD, thriving until shortly before the arrival of the Spanish in the 16th century, when the Inca Empire conquered their territories, leading to the gradual erasure of their culture and of their traditions. However, their incorporation into the Inca Empire was not easy as they put up constant resistance against their troops.
The little information relating to this enigmatic culture comes from the Incas themselves and from the chronicles of the Conquistadores. The most curious description of the members of the Chachapoya people is given by the Spanish chronicler and historian Pedro Cieza de León (c.1520 – 1554) who writes that they are "the whitest and most beautiful people he has seen in the Indies..." .
Several other clues indicate that the Chachapoyas had 'lighter' skin color than other natives of the region, which makes the origin of this people more enigmatic.
Other information comes from archaeological evidence in ruins, pottery, tombs and other artifacts. The best-known site is the Kuelap fortress, an imposing complex located near the city of Chachapoyas, in northern Peru.
The purunmachus sarcophagi remain the memory and legacy of what was once a thriving Andean culture.
