Searching for the Royal Mummies of the Incas

Dumbarton Oaks Events

Brian Bauer’s talk explores the role of the royal mummies in Inca as well as colonial history and history-making.

The Oak Room 

This is an in-person event and will not be live-streamed or recorded.Like many state-level societies, the Incas preserved the bodies of their deceased rulers through mummification. These royal mummies were periodically displayed in the main plaza of Cuzco, while at other times they were housed in their palaces within the city or at nearby estates. Following the Spanish conquest, a major search for the royal mummies was undertaken in 1559. Historical sources suggest that all were located, and the following year, five were transferred to the Hospital of San Andrés in Lima.This presentation reviews what is currently known about the fate of the royal Inca mummies and presents results from recent ground-penetrating radar surveys and archaeological excavations on the former hospital grounds. While the mummies themselves were not recovered, our investigations shed new light on the mummification practices of the Inca and the journey of five royal mummies from Cusco to Lima.Brian S. Bauer is a Professor of Anthropology at the University of Illinois Chicago. His scholarly interests are focused on the development of complex societies in the Americas and the European–American contact period. His research explores the emergence of social inequalities, integrating archaeological data with historical sources. He has published more than 20 books and monographs on Andean prehistory and is particularly well known for his work on the Incas.