During the excavations conducted on the Cerro Colorado site (Peruvian Central Coast), Pieter van Dalen discovered that some 40% of 1500 burials contained human remains wrapped in funerary bundles (fardos). The study of the associated material, along with radiocarbon dating, revealed that the cemetery was used by the society known today as the Chancay culture (ca. 1000 to 1572 AD). In this article we present the stratigraphy of one of the excavated funerary bundles. Its layout informs about the complexity of the funerary ritual during which it was made, as well as the general Chancay mortuary pattern.

During the excavations conducted on the Cerro Colorado site (Peruvian Central Coast), Pieter van Dalen discovered that some 40% of 1500 burials contained human remains wrapped in funerary bundles (fardos). The study of the associated material, along with radiocarbon dating, revealed that the cemetery was used by the society known today as the Chancay culture (ca. 1000 to 1572 AD). In this article we present the stratigraphy of one of the excavated funerary bundles. Its layout informs about the complexity of the funerary ritual during which it was made, as well as the general Chancay mortuary pattern.

This study presents the report of the chemical and archeometric investigations carried out in a set of samples recovered from the mummies of Cerro Colorado, a funerary area located at the southern end of the Huaura valley. North-central coast of Peru. The results show us that it was during the late Intermediate Period (Chancay culture) when burials intensified in this important funeral area, the largest on the Peruvian coast. Apparently, the use of resources for the elaboration of more elaborate textiles would be related to a period of optimun climaticum, in which living standards were considerably improved, especially in coastal societies.