The Chachapoyas Mystery: 200 Mummies Discovered in the Peru's Jungle Documentary - AD

A remote, isolated world that has yet to be completely explored. A territory with vast chasms, huge mountains and deep valleys squeezed between imposing cliffs, where cloud forests conceal the traces of the enigmatic people who once dwelled in this impossible landscape. Their striking mummies speak of a past which remains encrypted. Citadels devoured by the jungle and mysterious sarcophagi perched on vertical walls. These are the ancient Chachapoyas, also known as the Cloud Warriors. But who were they? Where did they come from? Why did they inhabit the abyss? This is the small colonial city of Leimebamba, located to the south of the Peruvian department of Amazonas, in the province of Chachapoyas. From here, we will journey to the La Jolla region. There, we will visit the cliffs where the Chachapoyas built their mausoleums, or funerary towers, called chulpas. Our horses and mules are shouldering a huge burden. Film equipment, climbing materials, electric generators and enough food for 15 people. There is absolutely nothing where we are going. We are accompanied by archaeologists Quirino Oliveira and Manuel Marabel. We plan to film the funerary setup of the mausoleums and to verify their state of conservation. The spot is located at some 3,600 meters and is incredibly steep. The first wall, known as the flask, showed clear signs of looting at the hands of tomb raiders. The funerary towers were virtually destroyed. This was also the case in the mausoleums of Diablohuasi. The tomb raiders managed to reach every archaeological site, even if it means risking their own lives. After a long hike, we finally come to the Diablohuasi archaeological site, where a group of funerary urns was once deposited. Unfortunately, we are surprised to find that it has been completely demolished. The structures that were located on the mountain have been sacked and destroyed, and are practically leveled. We've made it, but not a single archaeological remain is still intact. The Chachapoyas inhabited this region between 800 and 1500 A.D., building their pantheons on inaccessible cliffs where they preserved their dead. In Rivash, we can see the different types of mausoleums they built. In each of these, several funerary bundles were placed, containing the mummies of the dead. But how were they able to build these constructions on vertical walls, and even against sheer rock faces? Many scholars maintain that they built scaffolding out of wood and bamboo. Others say they clung to ropes that hung from the top of the cliffs. And still others insist that once the mausoleum was built, they broke off the natural rock shelves they have used to climb up, rendering the spot inaccessible. In this replica of a chulpa from the Leymabamba Museum, we can see how the funerary bundles were arranged. These contained the mummified bodies of the dead, and this was how they began their eternal journey to the underworld. Once mummification was complete, the body was bundled. To be more specific, it was embalmed with strips of cotton that constituted the shroud. Afterward, the outer layer was cinched with a stronger cloth, which was usually framed by an embroidered zigzag design. Near the head, the embroidery incorporated the schematic rendering of a human face, which supposedly represented the deceased. Finally, the bundle was protected with a shell made of wooden boards, secured with two hoops of cane and leather, which also acted as a casket. These funerary bundles, which are more than 500 years old, were recovered in 1997 by anthropologist Sonia Guillén at the Lake of the Condors. Their state of conservation is impeccable. Our expeditionary team, headed up by José Manuel Novoa, continued to explore the area. Peasants from the hamlet of La Jolla spoke of the spots where there were archaeological remains. Have you seen them closed? No, it seems to me that some are destroyed, some closed. Some closed? Yes. Well, let's see. And how long is this, more or less? An hour. An hour? I'm going to take it. Yes? I'm going to take it. Great, let's see if there is luck there. What's your name? Nixon Díaz. Nixon? I was born here. Like the former president? Can you repeat your name, please? Nixon Díaz Parge. From La Jolla? From La Jolla. I was born and raised here. Yes. Well, then it's that way, that way. Yes, we go there, we go to the river, we go like this, river, river, river, like this, walking. The trail Nixon led us down went along the bed of a seasonal river at about 3,500 meters above sea level. It was a real roller coaster. There were sections where the cloud forests were virtually impenetrable. This one seems to have been thrown all the way down here, all the frontis. But this one must have had three floors, because it's huge. At least it has had three floors. Maybe there are still remains there. Yes, there are. The bones are at the base. You can see a tip from here. And what I want to tell you is that what they have always taken advantage of is the natural roof at the top. So they have made it two or three floors. The Timbambo wall seemed to have several intact tombs. It's possible that the earthquakes, which often strike the zone, destroyed the facades of these chulpas. A preliminary look reveals no sign of looting. You know, I also have the impression that this one is intact, José Manuel. It's the one from the crack below. Have you seen it? Below the crack? Yes, below the crack, the left hand, where there is a kind of dust on top. Yes, that's what I was saying. The one right here in front. Of course. That one is intact, it seems. That one is also intact. Yes, yes. Let's see, wait a minute. Going down the crack, to the left. But that one, I see it more deteriorated, right? No, no, no. It's natural. Everything you see is intact. Just the one in front. What has fallen above is a detachment. And do you know where the detachment is in that hole that you see above? From the crack to the left you see a hole. Yes. And that stone has fallen on top of the roof. There is paint there, right? Of course. No, but it's down here. Ah, it's true, down there. That's excellent. But look, realize that the stone above has detached. Yes, yes, yes. There is the imprint of the stone and it has fallen on the roof. And there is the little window. Do you see? Perfectly. Hey, well, there is more than it seems. At first glance. especially in the gallery forests that ascend almost to the very springs of these torrential currents at some 4,000 meters above sea level. The ascent to the peak was very complicated due to the steep terrain and the thick and tangled forest floor. Clearing a path with a machete was an incredibly difficult task. There were many thorny plants and when the ground wasn't covered in mud it was dominated by slippery moss. Near the top the first Osseous remains of the ancient Chachapoyas came into view. These are surely from demolished mausoleums. Is that a child's skull? No. It looks like an adolescent, a female. Because the arches of the eyes are not as pronounced and the forehead is more prominent. Those are the characteristics of a woman's skull. And, well, she's still young, about 17. You can tell from the openings in the skull. They're not set yet. At the top, the vegetation hid the mountain peak. They had to walk carefully to choose the best way down. It's amazing to think that more than 5,000 years ago the Chachapoyas used this wall as a vast cemetery for housing and protecting their dead. Perhaps they descended along this same route to build their funerary chambers but without the technology or climbing materials which are available today. It's possible that several of them fell to their deaths as they worked. It's still not entirely known why they deposited their dead on these cliff faces. According to Peruvian archaeologist Federico Kaufmann-Doy, they looked for places in the rock that were well ventilated and that were not favorable for the growth of plants, the main cause of increases in humidity levels. Mummies are best conserved in dry surroundings. Xavi Sardá, an expert in high mountain rescue, is the first to descend, while Nacho Herranz, another climber with extensive experience in safety measures, checks that the anchors are securely placed. The wall is extremely unstable. The rock is rotten and not at all solid. They do not use mechanical bolts. Instead, they use threaded stainless steel anchors which can be recovered. These walls are protected archaeological sites and must be left intact when the expedition is over. Xavi has just entered a mausoleum and the air is charged. For the first time, we are about to see the contents of this village of the dead, as these death chambers are known by locals. Nacho descends with the cameras to begin the work that has brought him here. Among the stones of the destroyed chulpas, human remains can be made out. Skulls and large bones such as femurs are the most recognizable. These are all elements from destroyed tombs. Respect reigns. The group's spirits are a quiver. Our cameras are about to record the hidden contents of the cliff where the dead live on. A space which is sacred and reserved. Inside, the bones of the ancient chachapoyas are witnesses to a religious past in which life after death was the main objective. This large area was excavated out of natural rocky shelters and then covered. According to archaeologist Manuel Malaver, those who were buried here were commoners who were laid to rest with virtually no funerary offerings. There were no clear signs of looting, although it is possible some existed. It seemed that after the enclosing walls were torn down, birds of prey had disturbed the area. In any case, the skeletons of the ancient chachapoyas remained as witnesses to the exceptional people who once inhabited these cloud forests, leaving us their mystical legacy so that we might try to understand them. Members of the upper class were subjected to a laborious mummification process. It was extremely important that they be well prepared so that their souls would travel to the underworld and live on in the great beyond. If the mummy were destroyed, that soul would cease to exist forever. For this reason, all efforts were made to house them in inaccessible or well-protected spots. There were no tomb raiders at that time, but mummies were occasionally desecrated by rival tribes seeking revenge or by individuals for personal reasons. This was considered the most abominable crime possible by the chachapoyas. To the southeast of Lemebamba, on the lake of the condors, the jungle grows and thrives. This is a humid and hostile world, its majestic beauty turning sinister and unfathomable at times. In 1996, a group of looters made an accidental discovery in a natural shelter at 100 meters above the lake. Hidden by lush vegetation, six intact chachapoya mausoleums were opened to reveal more than 200 funerary bundles in an incredible state of conservation. They turned the place upside down, chopping several mummies apart with machetes, but when they found no gold or valuable jewels, they simply abandoned the archaeological site. Several months later, archaeologist Federico Kaufmann-Deug organized the first expedition to the spot and painstakingly catalogued the discovery. Dominated by cave paintings that have yet to be fully interpreted, the mausoleums have two levels with windows facing the lake. The funerary bundles were located on the upper floor. Thanks to the decisive intervention of anthropologist Sonia Guillén, the 219 mummies from the site were rescued in 1999. This bold initiative prevented the kind of inexorable destruction that has taken place in many other archaeological sites in Peru. Today, the mummies are on exhibit at the Archaeological Museum of Leimebamba in a room that has been outfitted to ensure their conservation. The first step in the process of mummification was to dilate the sphincter and then to extract the intestines through the rectum. Later, the opening was plugged up with cloth. In order to preserve facial features, the nostrils, cheek cavities and mouth were all stuffed with cotton and plant fibers. More delicate body parts like fingers and toes were held in place with string. The skin was scraped in order to eliminate all hair and was then tanned with herbs like pennyroyal and muña. Before commencing the embalming, all joints were broken in the extremities and ankles in order to force the body into the fetal position. The mummification process probably lasted several weeks, judging from the number of blue fly eggs found in the parts of the body that were not as heavily treated. However, no trace of beetles has been found. Their presence would have signaled a more advanced state of decomposition. In some cases, a smoking technique was used in order to accelerate the process of drying out the skin. Bags of fragrant herbs were placed near the mummy as part of this process. Once the body was prepared, a cloth was wrapped around the neck in the style of a scarf to keep the head erect. Later, the body was dressed in a series of tunics and cotton cloaks. Some of these were embroidered with traditional Chachapoyan designs, which surely evoked their gods, like the pieces on the facades of these structures. These mummies are from the final era of the Chachapoyas, the Incan period. The use of these mausoleums continued for quite some time in the colonial era. Due to the remote, hidden location of the Lake of the Condors, it was not affected by the arrival of missionaries. Funerary bundles containing mummified babies were also found. Our trip through history continues to the north. The city of Chachapoyas is a good spot for our new home base. Founded by Spanish captain Alonso de Alvarado on September 1538 and originally named San Juan de la Frontera de las Chachapoyas, this is one of the oldest cities in all of Peru. It has 35,000 inhabitants and still has a colonial feel about it. It was extravagantly conceived to house the capital of eastern Peru. About 100 kilometers to the north of the city, we come to the Marañón River, the northern border of Chachapoya territory. The Yamon cave paintings are located in a natural shelter and are a veritable chronological synopsis of the human presence in these lands. Our scientific advisor, archaeologist Quirino Oliveira, has spent years studying the more than 10,000 sketches that have been found up to now in the Marañón and Utcubamba river valleys. He dates the oldest paintings, which are hunting scenes, at about 8,000 years old. The most recent paintings are from the Chachapoya era. The oldest of the Chachapoya Indians lived here about 1,200 years ago. This wild, removed enclave of virgin forest is home to more than 20 year-round waterfalls, which become even more spectacular in the rainy season. A lost world, cloaked by the green of the jungle and almost always hidden in the fog. A virtually unexplored territory, which is exemplified by a discovery made just four years ago. When German Stefan Siemendorf measured the height of Gocta Falls, known by locals as La Chorrera, he found that it was the third highest in the world. At 771 meters tall, it ranked just after Angel Falls in Venezuela and Tugela Falls in South Africa. Until that moment, it had not been mentioned on a single map. In the past few years, many of the caves that exist in the region have been explored, and some incredible discoveries have been made. It is possible that the first Chachapoyas were troglodytes. The first searches were undertaken by a group under the direction of Spanish speleologist Agustín Rodríguez, who is the parish priest at Cañada Real, one of Madrid's most marginal neighborhoods. His collaborator was the brilliant anthropologist Sonia Guillén of the Malqui Center. They explored more than 20 caves, finding the remains of dwellings and a great many Chachapoyan burial sites. Until now, it was believed that this unique culture had thrived between 800 and 1500 AD, but it is possible that its origins go back even further. It may seem impossible, but the tomb raiders have managed to reach this place, which explains why the bones have been piled up out of their funerary context. Well, let's see, the long leg bones, the two femurs, are very parallel, very close together, which could indicate that this really is a Chachapoyan burial site, where they have tied together the Aseas remains and deposited them here. The long arm bones, well actually this is a tibia, would be practically tied to the femurs, but then here are the arm bones, and then it's all mixed up with the ribs and the vertebrae, which are quite deteriorated. Here's a piece of the jaw, here's another one, and this might be a piece of the parietal bone. To date, it has not been determined when and why the Chachapoyas emerged from their caves to colonize the mountains. They probably continued to use these caverns for quite a while as sacred tombs. The remains of their mountainside villages, with their round houses, are rare, taking into account that the population in the year 1500 is estimated to have been about 300,000. It is for this reason that many scholars believe the majority of these buildings were for storing grain. They were located at high altitudes to protect them from humidity. Their houses were located near their crops and were more rudimentary, made of less sturdy materials, with mud walls and straw roofs. Here in the ruins of San Antonio, an extremely important painted mural has been found. Although fairly deteriorated, its realism is striking. The scene focuses on a dance, where the dresses, hairstyles and accessories are incredible. New World writer and historian Pedro Cieza de León calls them the White Indians, because they were the fairest, most attractive race in Peru. He tells how the women were so beautiful that they became favorites of the Incas. They wore woolen clothing and wore their hair in the style of their people. The men are described as being ferocious warriors who were tall and strong. We ascend Cuelap, the so-called Citadel of the Clouds. At more than 3,000 meters above sea level, masked by the never-ending movement of the clouds, we find the holy fortress of the Warriors of the Fog, another name for the Chachapoya Indians. Cuelap was built between 1000 and 1300 A.D., at the height of Chachapoyan culture. It is located on the left bank of the Utcubamba River, atop a rocky crest called La Barreta, which is made of calcareous material. The ruins take on a ghostly look, immersed as they are in the constant fog that envelops them year-round. The fierce vegetation that has invaded the ancient grounds confers this massive monument with the mysterious appearance of a civilization lost in time. The place was discovered in 1843 quite by accident by Judge Juan Crisóstomo Nieto as he was resolving a border dispute. In his report to the Colonial General, he classified it as the most marvelous work you can possibly imagine. After describing the buildings, snake-eye decorations, doorways, dimensions and mummies, he ends by saying, this ingenious, solid, gigantic stone bastion leads one to believe that an illustrious nation once occupied this territory. The impressive walls were some 20 meters high, with a slight inward tilt making them more stable. Measuring 600 meters long, they were built with blocks of limestone which weighed up to 3 tons each, and with other smaller stones of ashlar masonry. The three main gates functioned as funnels, so that at the end of a long walled corridor, it was necessary to enter the city in single file, through doors that were barely 70 centimeters wide. The houses, which were 7 or 8 meters in diameter, were built with stone walls, which often had an exterior cornice for protection from the rain. A pointed conical roof was made using a framework of sticks covered with straw. Not all the buildings were houses. Many were actually used for the storage of grain. Two sectors have been identified, which are separated by a wall, the upper and lower quarters. Kuelap is about 600 meters long, by as many as 150 meters wide. The quantity of stone used here is equivalent to three times the amount used in the Great Pyramid of Cheops in Egypt. No one is entirely sure if the city was built as a fortress, or as a refuge and a place for storing food in difficult times. Some scholars defend the sacred character of Kuelap, where members of the Chachapoyan upper classes lived. There were also priests who interpreted the intentions of the gods, created agricultural calendars, and predicted changes in climate patterns. These included changes brought on by El Niño, which caused huge catastrophes. Within the homes, shallow stone caves can still be seen. These were used for raising guinea pigs, the main source of protein in their diet. In some rounded indentations in the floors of several houses, human bones have been found. This leads experts to believe that the burial of family members in their own homes was a common practice. Archaeologist Alfredo Narvaez, director of the Kuelap project, has documented 415 circular structures and four with square or rectangular floor plans, the latter of which date to the Incan era. The city is thought to have been inhabited by some 3,000 people. This building in the shape of an inverted cone is known as the Inkwell. Inside, there is a room shaped like a bottle. It's not known what it was used as, a barn, a water tank, or a prison where enemies were sacrificed. Perhaps someday the answer will be revealed by this face carved into the facade. A wall about 8 meters high protects the upper quarter, where the elite members of society are thought to have lived. There are huge buildings that might have been temples, where in addition to sacrificing animals, human sacrifices may also have taken place on extraordinary occasions, like the arrival of El Niño. The upper quarter was accessed by a ramp that was also shaped like a funnel, indicating that not everyone was welcome in this part of the city. They would surely have had to pass through strict controls. The walls were built without the use of mortar. The limestone blocks were worked in such a way that they fit together perfectly. Many are the secrets still guarded by this colossus of the clouds, which were given up by the Inca Tupac Yupanqui when the city was besieged. Excavation here is ongoing, and soon new discoveries will be made, helping us to understand what life was like for the warriors of the fog. These are the Carajilla sarcophagi, anchored in a vertical wall and decked out with trophy skulls. Each of them contains the mummy of a person who was undoubtedly a member of the Chachapoya elite. For centuries they have been here, looking out with a lost gaze that recalls the moai of Easter Island. Other groups of lower-ranking tombs are found scattered about the rocky shelves and natural indentations of the cliff. Many have been sacked, their mummies shredded and devoured by pests and pillaging birds. Fortunately, only one of the Purunmachus has been destroyed. This is the name locals use for the most ornate tombs. They deposited the body on a rock ledge and then built a tomb in situ with reeds and a mixture of mud and straw, modeling the outline of a human without extremities. A layer of plaster was applied to the outside, which was then decorated with symbols from various clans and religions. These are almost always laid out in rows of four, six or eight. On the cliffs of Lamu and Luya, where countless sarcophagi of all kinds have been found, there are still areas that remain unexplored. German archaeologist Klaus Kochmieder has been researching the canyons of Utkobamba for some time. Along with his two assistants, he has spent more than three years painstakingly registering every hidden recess in the massive rocky outcroppings. He has made some important discoveries in the course of his daring and risky fieldwork. We now accompany him on a descent of the vertical cliffs, our cameras in tow. We've been here for about three years. Approximately two years of that time was spent on systematic prospecting, and we've also undertaken archaeological excavations in different sites, both dwellings and burial sites. The paths we walk with Klaus are not recommended for those who suffer from vertigo. One wrong step would mean an irreversible, deathly fall. With the help of our climbing specialists, Klaus reaches some of the caves he has wanted to inspect, but has been unable to get to due to a lack of adequate equipment. We find both dwellings and burial sites in these vertical walls, including this intact sarcophagus. A wall once concealed a natural opening with a head stained with ochre-colored clay, similar to the Purumachus of Karajia. On the cliffs lining the left bank of the Utkubamba, we move upward toward the excavation Klaus has been working on, a construction built beside a small cavern decorated with Chachapoyan symbols. The scenes depicted here speak of the use of canoes, which were undoubtedly for crossing the river and fishing. There are also schematic figures of men and animals. The importance of the excavation Klaus is working on lay in the burial sites he had found in the floor of a cliffside dwelling, located halfway up the hill that towers over the valley. The skull of one of the bodies has been drilled into. The Chachapoyas took advantage of small cracks and natural shelters for their cliff dwellings. The rock ceilings protected them from the rains. Side walls and front closures were built using stones and mud. Hangers made from forked sticks are still in good condition. Here we are at the Corralpampa site. It's located on the left bank of the Kubamba River. We're about halfway up the mountain face, and here we have a semicircular house that first functioned as a dwelling for the Chachapoyas. But in the late stages of the occupation of this area, the Chachapoyas used this place as a burial site. We determined this because the floor, as you saw before, was cracked, and as it hadn't been sealed up again, we saw that it contained several things, including tombs, and we found three tombs right below floor level. One of these was quite interesting. You saw it right here. It's a skull with a fracture, and then, right next to the fracture, there's a trepanation hole with a diameter of about two centimeters. The trepanation hole was probably a result of the fracture. It's possible that the person was struck by a stone club, and that because of the pain, and the consequences of the blow, people tried to cure him with this treatment. In those days, the fiercest weapon available was a stone club, like these clubs, made by the Inca. In order to relieve the pain caused by fractures, they practiced trepanation. They peeled back the scalp and conducted the operation using an obsidian awl. In their final era, they used metal awls, which they obtained from villages to the north. Trepanation was used to cure patients, people who were wounded, because they were obviously experiencing a great deal of pain. They tried to alleviate the pain by placing herbs on the fractured area, and also on the cranium. The collection of the National Archaeological Museum of Lima has more than 40,000 trepanated skulls from various ancient Peruvian cultures. The practice was quite common among all of these peoples. Surprisingly, more than 60% of patients who underwent trepanation survived the primitive surgical procedure. Among those who survived, it's easy to see how the bone continued to grow, and the trepanation opening began to close up again. In some cases, the hole closed up entirely. The Chachapoyas were eminent warriors. From their high-up dwellings, they were much better equipped to keep a lookout for the enemy. It's possible that the inhabitants of this house used this ancient fulling mill to shape their weapons and stone projectiles for their slingshots. We know this thanks to the Spanish writers who spoke constantly of the Chachapoyas as a violent race that practiced headhunting. It is possible that there were quite a few conflicts between subgroups. But also, when the Incas arrived, there was conflict with them as they tried to defend their freedom. In the mountains and canyons in the Lamu region, in natural rocky shelves protected from inclement weather, numerous groupings of sarcophagi with diverse shapes, designs and dimensions have been found. They all have a certain human look, although according to some researchers, they may also be a sort of phallic representation. The head would be the rounded head of the penis, emerging from the foreskin. Kaufmann-Deuck differentiates between the various basic types of sarcophagi. The large, majestic ones, like those from Carajilla, those with the head against the belly, which are quite plain, those with the head against the chest, and those with a coat of arms, involving a smooth, simple wall that encloses a natural cave with a head. There are two theories as to the origin of the Chachapoyas. Some experts say they come from the Andes. Others insist that they arrive from lowlands in the Amazon jungle. What is certain is that this was an amazing culture, especially because of its religious manifestations and death worship. A deeply rooted belief in transcendence after death made them the architects of the abyss. The lost gaze of the Purunmachus, who have spent centuries wedged into the vertical walls of a precipice. They seem to watch us from afar, sending a coded message that we are still unable to understand. Their presence in the mountains is like a historic testimony to their existence.