The Artistic Nature of the Chinchorro Mummies and the Archaeology of Grief
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 6044204 |
|---|---|
| Authors | B Arriaza (0000-0001-9921-9253, University of Tarapacá, corresponding author) |
| Year | 2025 |
| Volume | 36 |
| Issue | 1 |
| Pages | 1-18 |
| Publication date | 2025-11-27 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Cambridge Archaeological Journal (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0959-7743 • E-ISSN: 1474-0540 |
| Publisher | Cambridge University Press (CUP) (PUBLISHER) |
| DOI | 10.1017/s095977432510022x |
| OpenAlex | W4416768425 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 1 |
| References cited | 52 |
This study offers a review of the artistic dimension of the Chinchorro culture, a complex hunter-gatherer society along the coast of the Atacama Desert that, around 7000 years ago, created elaborate representations of the dead. It provides archaeological background and investigates the possible reasons for the development of artificial mummification. Drawing on the art therapy model and the concepts of art and grief, the analysis interprets Chinchorro mortuary rituals as expressions of emotional and social processes. This study argues that these anthropogenically prepared mummies represent artistic expressions that reflect the intentional decision-making and emotional awareness of these ancient communities, serving as a means to process grief. Furthermore, the paper highlights the multifaceted nature of Chinchorro society, including the mining and use of pigments such as manganese—materials that, while symbolically meaningful, posed serious health risks and may have contributed to the eventual decline of their elaborate funerary practices. Finally, the study underscores the enduring cultural significance of the Chinchorro, particularly in shaping contemporary identity of Arica region, where artistic portrayal of dead links ancient and modern narratives of cultural heritage
Grief · Lived experience · Narrative · Sociocultural evolution · Archaeology and ancient environmental studies · Archaeology and Rock Art Studies · Paleopathology and ancient diseases
Infant and child death in the human environment of evolutionary adaptation
Art And Agency
Emergence of social complexity among coastal hunter-gatherers in the Atacama Desert of northern Chile
Celebrations of Death
Morro 1-5 (Arica). Momias y sociedades complejas del Arcaico de los Andes Centrales
The !Kung of Nyae Nyae
Community with the ancestors
Living in poisoning environments
Oleneostrovski mogilnik
Mortuary practices
The Art of Making Images
Parental Grief and Mourning in the Ancient Andes
El temprano arte de la tradición de tejer esteras en fibra vegetal en la sociedad Chinchorro (10.000-3500 aP)
Kilómetro 4 y la ocupación del Periodo Arcaico en el área de Ilo, al sur del Perú
Skeletal arsenic of the pre-Columbian population of Caleta Vitor, northern Chile
Manganese mining in Corral Quemado
Learning About Death and Burial
Art’ in Archaeology and Anthropology
An archaeometric approach to biocontamination with manganese pigments in ancient marine hunter-gatherers of the Atacama Desert
Trauma in the preceramic coastal populations of northern Chile
Nuevos fechados absolutos para el proceso de formación de sitios Chinchorro en el Morro de Arica, costa centro-sur andina
Patrón funerario arcaico temprano del sitio Acha-3 y su relación con Chinchorro
Relational bodies
The Archaeology of Emotion and Affect
Differential Mortuary Treatment among the Andean Chinchorro Fishers
Emotion in Archaeology
Chinchorro fibre management in the Atacama Desert and its significance for understanding Andean textilization processes
La noción de persona y la agencia de las cosas. Una mirada desde el arte rupestre
| Unique citing works | 1 |
|---|---|
| Citations per year | 1 |
| Citation span | 2026 - 2026 (1) |
| Citation velocity | current |
| Highly cited | No |