Fascinating link Kat, thanks for posting it...

from [www.archaeology.org]

>"Sometime around the beginning of the fifth millennium B.C. the Chinchorro began mummifying their dead--eviscerating the corpses and defleshing the bones. The skeleton would be reassembled, reinforced with sticks, and internal organs would be replaced with clay, camelid fibers, and dried plants, while muscles would be re-created with thin bundles of wild reeds and sea grasses. The body would then be "reupholstered" with the skin of the deceased, which would have been carefully removed and set aside. Sea lion skin was added to fill any gaps. The entire body was then covered with an
> ash paste and finished with a coat of shiny black manganese"

Fifth mill BCE! And it sounds like they put more work into the mummification process than the AE did...

I'm going to put the book on my "Future Buy" list, Thanks!

Jammer