Oh dear ... I think the coffee table analogy is a bit too much.

From all indications they were honored. The evidence shows that the mummies were most likely kept upright (the feet show more decay from contact with the ground) ... perhaps leaning against the wall of the hut. That the mummies were kept for quite a time, they were repaired. *What* they actually believed is difficult, the Chinchorro's were a long time ago and they left no writing.

[www.archaeology.org]
There's a short article ... I highly suggest Beyond Death: The Chinchorro Mummies of Ancient Chile

Kat

Ma'at Moderator

Founder and Director of The Hall of Ma'at

Contributing author to Archaeological Fantasies:
How pseudoarchaeology misrepresents the past and misleads the public
"If you panic, you're lost" -- W. T. 'Watertight' Southard