A 1600-year-old royal mummy was found in the North part of Peru.

Archaeologists in Peru have discovered a 15-century-old mummy of a tattooed Moche woman in a Pyramid called Cao Viejo in ceremonial site called El brujo ( The Wizard) , located about an hour's drive north of Trujillo city and 300 miles north of Lima. (See map)
http://www.inkanatura.com/mapnorth.asp

The mummy, which dates to about A.D. 450, was entombed with a dazzling collection of weapons and jewelry. Without doubt this lady was member of royalty and revels the power of this woman in the Moche society. No other Moche woman like her has ever been found. "Based on our preliminary study, we think she was a ruler," says archaeologist Régulo Franco.

Photos by National Geographic ©

She was about 5 feet tall and died in her late 20’s. Apparently she was in good health with no signs of nutritional deficiencies, Although she had one tooth that would have become abscessed if she had lived longer. Her abdominal skin was wrinkled and collapsed, and bone scarring indicated the woman had given birth at least once.

The Moche is a fascinating sophisticated pre Inca culture that flourished from 100 to AD along the different valleys of the Northern Peruvian coastline. Some information about the Moches :

• They had a theocratic government system.
• They were expert architects. They built several huge pyramids of sun-dried adobe bricks. We can count Sipan Pyramids, Sun and Moon temples, Dos Cabezas and El Brujo among others.
• They diverted rivers into a network of irrigation canals for agricultural purposes.
• Its pottery is fascinating and helps us to learn about them. The pottery represents the daily life of the Moches, fishing, ceremonies, mythology and different combats. In the Larco Herrera Museum (Lima) there are special areas with thousands of ceramics including sexual acts.
• They were experts in metallurgical techniques. They used silver cooper and gold. We can admire their work in the Royal Tombs of Sipan Museum in Chiclayo.
  http://www.inkanatura.com/coastchiclayotrujillo_royaltombs_of_sipanmuseum.asp
  
  Tourists and archaeology lovers visit Chiclayo and Trujillo to learn more about the ancient Peruvian cultures. Here you can find some tours in the North
  http://www.inkanatura.com/tourprograms.asp
  
  More information about the Tattooed mummy at
  http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2006/05/mummy-peru.html
  http://www.livescience.com/history/060516_peru_mummy.html