Abstract
Through the Late Intermediate Period (1100–1450 CE), Andean highland and Bolivian populations utilized the burial practice of mummification with placement of the decedent within above ground stone funerary towers called chullpas. Individuals were mummified with their faces exposed and placed in the Chullpas to allow ancestors to be visited.
Common grave goods found within these towers include precious metals, ceramics, other household items, and occasionally animal sacrifices. This study involves the CT scans of 53 bundles originating from the Andean highlands. All the mummified remains date to the Late Intermediate Period, 15 being confirmed by carbon-14. Of 45 mostly intact remains, CT imaging revealed the presence of rodent remains within 3 (n=3, 5.6%). Among these cases, the mummified human bodies were within intact burial bundles/baskets and rodents were present alongside the human remains. Advance CT reconstruction techniques (including Materialise Mimics Innovation Suite Software) were very useful in elucidating the presence and the anatomy of the stowaways. The size and shape of the snouts, and long tail are similar in all three. A fourth mummified bundle included the limb of a larger animal. While the species of rodents have not been identified, only a limited number of such species habituate the high altitudes of the altiplano (>3,800 meters).
Conclusion. This report is the first of its kind to analyze the appearance of rodents in Andean highland mummified remains. Whether the 3 rodents were intentionally buried with the deceased for cultural reasons or entered the burial straw basket and became trapped is not known. The later explanation seems more plausible. In any case, the animals presumably remained as companions to the deceased humans over the centuries. Advanced CT reconstruction tools proved helpful in detecting and displaying the rodents.