Humanizing the Mummy

The mummy bundle of the woman discovered at El Brujo included a surprising detail not typically found in Moche burials. Adorning her funerary bundle was an embroidered face (pictured). To start the delicate process of unwrapping the mummy for study, textile expert Arabel Fernández López carefully removed the stitches. “I think the face humanized the bundle and reminded mourners that this was no ordinary person,” Fernandez says.