In one of the Peruvian regions called Amasons lived an ancient civilization - Chachapoya. This civilization not only coexisted with the legendary Incas, but was also somewhat older. In 1984, in Karakhia, archaeologists discovered unique sarcophagi, in which the Chachapoya Indians buried the dead. Basically, the sarcophagi consisted of clay, earth and stones.
The oldest Indian civilization, Chachapoya, originated in the territory adjacent to the Andes in the ninth century AD. And the Incas appeared here only three centuries later. The Chachapoya Indians were called by the Incas "the people of the clouds" or "cloud warriors" - because they settled on rocky peaks, practically in the very clouds.
High in the mountains, people not only managed to build their own dwellings, of which there were up to four hundred buildings. They also engaged in agriculture - breaking up and cultivating entire fields on mountain peaks. In addition, the Indians have mastered the art of weaving. Despite the proximity to the Incas, the Chachapoya found themselves isolated from the rest of the world, separated by impenetrable equatorial forests and two turbulent rivers.
Relations with neighbors could not be called peaceful - the Incas periodically attacked the chachapoya. This forced the latter to build special defensive fortifications for their settlements. But they also learned to fight well - the Incas considered them strong rivals, and local shamans were not only respected, but also afraid.
The sarcophagi that were found at the sites of the Chachapoya settlements are a distinctive feature of the ancient Indians. Over time, this type of burial of the dead was forgotten. But thanks to the found 250 sarcophagi, archaeologists were able to establish how the chachapoya was buried. Interestingly, the sarcophagi were found at a distance of about 50 kilometers from the city of the Indians and were placed in an inaccessible mountain niche. And this is taking into account the fact that the height of each sarcophagus is 2.5 meters.
Among the chachapoya sarcophagi were two of them: hard and soft. At the entrance to the cave, as a rule, the ancients had from four to eight solid sarcophagus. They consisted of clay, stones and earth. Instead of faces, they wore wooden masks, some even wore hats. Some had two faces at once - the second was located above the head. The so-called cone-shaped body was painted with red and white ornaments.
Promotional video:
There were soft sarcophagi inside the cave. They are stone-clay cocoons that imitate human figures. Outside, these cocoons were wrapped in several layers of fabric, which became similar to burial clothes. The sarcophagi were decorated with drawings resembling human faces.
Also in the caves were found mummies with faces twisted from horror, in unnatural poses with open mouths and hands clasping their heads. In one of these caves near the city of Cuelap, there were mummies, mostly women, old people and children. Their bodies had unusual shapes, many had traces of fire. This feature led scientists to put forward the assumption that the Incas most likely burned the city of Chachapoya along with its inhabitants.
Finally, civilization disappeared with the arrival of the Spanish conquistadors. Despite the fact that the Chachapoya, in order to take revenge on their old enemies - the Incas, began to fight on the side of the Spaniards, most of them died from imported diseases. The remaining representatives of the ancient civilization have lost their identity, mixing with the rest of the Indian peoples.
Now everyone can see the ancient Indian sarcophagi, which were collected from different chachapoyi settlements. One of the Peruvian museums contains a large number of similar hard and soft sarcophagi, mummies, funeral costumes, jewelry, ceramics and other artifacts.
