Settlement and Artificial Mummification of the Chinchorro Culture in the Arica and Parinacota Region
Settlement and Artificial Mummification of the Chinchorro Culture in the Arica and Parinacota Region
The property consists of three component parts: Faldeo Norte del Morro de Arica, Colón 10, both in the city of Arica, and Desembocadura de Camarones, in a rural environment some 100km further south. Together they bear testimony to a culture of marine hunter-gatherers who resided in the arid and hostile northern coast of the Atacama Desert in northernmost Chile from approximately 5450 BCE to 890 BCE. The property presents the oldest known archaeological evidence of the artificial mummification of bodies with cemeteries that contain both artificially mummified bodies and some that were preserved due to environmental conditions. Over time, the Chinchorro perfected complex mortuary practices, whereby they systematically dismembered and reassembled bodies of deceased men, women and children of the entire social spectrum to create “artificial” mummies. These mummies possess material, sculptural, and aesthetic qualities that are presumed to reflect the fundamental role of the dead in Chinchorro society. Tools made of mineral and plant materials as well as simple instruments made of bone and shells that enabled an intensive exploitation of marine resources, have been found in the property which bears a unique testimony to the complex spirituality of the Chinchorro culture.
Description is available under license CC-BY-SA IGO 3.0
Peuplement et momification artificielle de la culture chinchorro dans la région d'Arica et de Parinacota
Ce bien est constitué de trois éléments constitutifs : Faldeo Norte del Morro de Arica et Colón 10, tous deux situés dans la ville d’Arica, et Desembocadura de Camarones, situé dans un cadre rural à environ 100 km au sud. Ils témoignent d’une culture de chasseurs-cueilleurs marins qui ont résidé sur la côte nord, aride et hostile, du désert d’Atacama, dans l’extrême nord du Chili, entre environ 5450 et 890 avant J.-C. Ce bien comprend les plus anciens témoignages archéologiques connus de momification artificielle des corps au monde, avec des cimetières recelant des corps artificiellement momifiés par l’homme et d’autres qui ont été préservés sous l’effet de facteurs environnementaux. Au fil du temps, les Chinchorros ont perfectionné des pratiques mortuaires élaborées, démembrant et réassemblant systématiquement les corps des défunts (hommes, femmes et enfants) de tout le spectre social pour créer des momies « artificielles ». Ces momies possèdent des qualités matérielles, sculpturales et esthétiques qui traduisaient probablement le rôle fondamental des morts dans la société chinchorro. Des outils faits de matériaux minéraux et végétaux ainsi que des instruments simples faits d’os et de coquillages qui permettaient une exploitation importante des ressources marines ont été découverts dans ce bien, qui constitue un témoignage unique de la spiritualité complexe de la culture chinchorro.
Description is available under license CC-BY-SA IGO 3.0
الاستيطان والتحنيط الاصطناعي في ثقافة شنكورو في منطقة أريكا وباريناكوتا
يتألَّف هذا الموقع من ثلاثة عناصر: "فالديو نورتيه ديل مورو دي أريكا وكولون 10" اللذين يقعان في مدينة أريكا، و"ديسيمبو كادروا دي كامارونس" الذي يقع ضمن بيئة ريفية تبعد قرابة 100 كم باتجاه الجنوب. وتشهد هذه العناصر معاً على ثقافة البحارة الصيادين الجامعين الذين استوطنوا في الفترة التي تراوحت تقريباً بين عام 5450 قبل الميلاد وعام 890 قبل الميلاد، في الساحل الشمالي لصحراء أتاكاما الكائن في أقصى شمال شيلي، والذي يتسمُّ بأنَّه قاحل وغير مؤاتٍ للحياة. ويقدِّم هذا الموقع أقدم دليل أثري على التحنيط الاصطناعي للجثامين، حيث توجد فيه مقابر تحتوي على أجساد محنَّطة بطريقة اصطناعية وأخرى حُفظت بفعل الظروف البيئية. وقد أتقن شعب شنكورو مع الوقت، ممارسات معقدة مرتبطة بدفن الموتى، حيث كانوا يقومون بطريقة منهجية، بتقطيع أوصال جثامين الرجال والنساء والأطفال الذين ينتمون إلى جميع أطياف المجتمع بغية تشكيل مومياءات "اصطناعية"، تتمتع بمزايا مادية ونحتية وجمالية يُفترض أنَّها تعكس الدور الأساسي للموتى في مجتمع شنكورو. وقد وُجدت في الموقع أدوات مصنوعة من مواد معدنية ونباتية وكذلك وُجدت معدات بسيطة مصنوعة من عظام وأصداف خوَّلتهم استغلال الموارد البحرية على نحو مكثَّف، مما يمثِّل شهادة للحياة الروحانية المركبة لثقافة شنكورو.
source: UNESCO/CPE
Description is available under license CC-BY-SA IGO 3.0
阿里卡和帕里纳科塔地区的新克罗文化聚落及木乃伊制作
遗产地由3个区域组成：位于阿里卡市区的阿里卡山北坡、哥伦布10遗址，以及城南100公里处的农村环境中的卡马罗内斯河入海口。它们共同见证了约公元前5450年至前890年的海洋狩猎采集者文化，这些人居住在智利最北端阿塔卡马沙漠干旱且环境恶劣的北岸。在该遗址发现了已知的最古老的人工木乃伊化尸体的考古证据，墓地中既有人工木乃伊化的尸体，也有由于环境条件而保存下来的尸体。随着时间的推移，新克罗人完善了其复杂的殡葬习俗，他们系统地肢解和重组了各个社会阶层的亡者的身体，以创造“人造”木乃伊。这些木乃伊的材质、结构和审美特质被认为反映了先人在新克罗社会中的重要地位。在该遗迹中还发现了用矿物和植物材料制成的工具，以及用骨头和贝壳制成的简单器械，这些器具使得新克罗人能够大量开发海洋资源。亦是新克罗文化复杂精神信仰的独特见证。
source: UNESCO/CPE
Description is available under license CC-BY-SA IGO 3.0
Поселение и искусственная мумификация культуры Чинчорро в регионе Арика и Паринакота
Объект состоит из трех компонентов: Faldeo Norte del Morro de Arica и Colón 10, которые находятся в городе Арика, и Desembocadura de Camarones в сельской местности, примерно в 100 км к югу. Вместе они являются свидетельствами культуры морских охотников-собирателей, которые проживали на территории засушливого и враждебного северного побережья пустыни Атакама на самом севере Чили примерно в 5450-890 гг. до н.э. На территории объекта представлены древнейшие из известных археологических свидетельств искусственной мумификации тел, а также кладбища, содержащие как искусственно мумифицированные тела, так и тела, которые были сохранены в связи с условиями окружающей среды. Со временем Чинчорро усовершенствовали сложные методы захоронения, посредством чего они систематически расчленяли и собирали тела умерших мужчин, женщин и детей всего социального спектра для создания «искусственных» мумий. Эти мумии обладают материальными, скульптурными и эстетическими свойствами, которые, как предполагается, отражают основополагающую роль мертвых в обществе Чинчорро. Инструменты из минеральных и растительных материалов, а также простые инструменты из костей и ракушек, которые позволяли интенсивно использовать морские ресурсы, были найдены на территории объекта, что является уникальным свидетельством сложной духовности культуры Чинчорро.
source: UNESCO/CPE
Description is available under license CC-BY-SA IGO 3.0
Asentamiento y momificación artificial de la cultura chinchorro en la región de Arica y Parinacota
El sitio consta de tres componentes: Faldeo Norte del Morro de Arica, Colón 10, ambos en la ciudad de Arica, y Desembocadura de Camarones, en un entorno rural a unos 100 km más al sur. En conjunto, brindan testimonio de una cultura de cazadores-recolectores marinos que residieron en la árida y hostil costa norte del desierto de Atacama, en el extremo norte de Chile, desde aproximadamente 5450 a.C. hasta 890 a.C. El sitio presenta la evidencia arqueológica más antigua conocida de la momificación artificial de cuerpos con cementerios que contienen tanto cuerpos momificados artificialmente como algunos que se conservaron debido a las condiciones ambientales. Con el tiempo, los chinchorro perfeccionaron complejas prácticas funerarias, por las que desmembraban y volvían a ensamblar sistemáticamente cuerpos de hombres, mujeres y niños fallecidos de todo el espectro social para crear momias “artificiales”. Estas poseían cualidades materiales, escultóricas y estéticas que se supone reflejaban el papel fundamental de los muertos en la sociedad chinchorro. En el sitio se han encontrado herramientas confeccionadas con materiales minerales y vegetales, así como instrumentos sencillos de hueso y concha que permitían una explotación intensiva de los recursos marinos, lo que constituye un testimonio único de la compleja espiritualidad de la cultura chinchorro.
source: UNESCO/CPE
Description is available under license CC-BY-SA IGO 3.0
Outstanding Universal Value
Brief synthesis
The northern coast of the Atacama Desert, an arid and hostile habitat in northernmost Chile, was home to the Chinchorro, a society of marine hunter-gatherers who lived here from approximately 7400 BP to 2840 BP (5450 BCE to 890 BCE). They successfully adapted to the extreme environmental conditions of a hyper-arid coastal desert in the rugged Coastal Cordillera by using the nearby rich marine resources. Archaeological sites associated with the Chinchorro culture are recognized for having the oldest known artificially mummified human bodies.
The serial property is comprised of three component parts – Faldeo Norte del Morro de Arica and Colón 10 (both located in an urban setting), and Desembocadura de Camarones (located in a rural environment) – which include the archaeological remains of settlements, cemeteries, and dense shell middens, as well as a natural setting similar to that faced by the Chinchorro people. These remains provide evidence of sea harvesting activities and land occupation that illustrate the technological and spiritual complexity of this society from its coastal beginnings to its disappearance.
The cemeteries reveal that the Chinchorro innovated continuously in their mummification practices to create artificial mummies that possessed extraordinary material, sculptural, and aesthetic qualities that reflected the fundamental social role of the dead in human society.
Criterion (iii): The cultural remains left behind by the Chinchorro people, including their artefacts, mummies, and cemeteries, stand as a testimony to their belief system and ideas about the afterlife, and as such bear a unique testimony to this cultural tradition. The Chinchorro cemeteries reveal artificially as well as naturally mummified bodies, both in exceptionally good states of conservation due to the very dry environment. The Chinchorro innovated continuously in their artificial mummification practices, revealing technical ability by dismembering and reassembling bodies to create artificial mummies possessing extraordinary material, sculptural, and aesthetic qualities.
Criterion (v): The Chinchorro culture occupied one of the most arid places in the world, the coastal areas of the Atacama Desert. The property presents an outstanding example of human interaction with the environment, with highly specialized use of land and sea resources. The marine hunter-gatherer groups adapted to a harsh environment that had minimal fresh water and plant resources and developed simple and efficient technologies to harvest from the ocean. Culturally, they flourished for thousands of years in a vast, hyper-dry territory and the archaeological evidence of their sea harvesting and land occupation can be found in settlements, cemeteries, and shell middens as well as in the environmental setting itself.
Integrity
The integrity of the property is based on the cultural remains left behind by the Chinchorro people, particularly artificially mummified remains, and on this people’s adaptation to one of the most arid places in the world, where they flourished for thousands of years. The serial component parts were selected as the most representative and best preserved of all the Chinchorro sites in northern Chile and southern Peru, for their complementary nature, and for their tangible attributes that provide a comprehensive view of the Chinchorro culture. Issues with site encroachment in the Faldeo Norte del Morro de Arica component part have been resolved, and are in the process of being addressed at the Desembocadura de Camarones component. Part of the Faldeo Norte del Morro de Arica component has been affected by public works. Further explanation on distribution and interrelationships of the archaeological sites located within the property component parts, including the remains already removed through excavation, as well as those still in situ and detected through different surveying techniques, would enhance the integrity of the property.
Authenticity
The conditions of authenticity of the Settlement and Artificial Mummification of the Chinchorro Culture in terms of the attributes of material, design and substance have been met. The knowledge of the Chinchorro culture comes from studies of archaeological sites endorsed by a number of national and international scientific conferences and publications. Archaeological sites where no reconstructions have been undertaken retain a high degree of authenticity. It is supposed that most of the property’s archaeological artefacts remain in situ, unexcavated and untouched for thousands of years and therefore are authentic.
Protection and management requirements
At the national level, the Ministry of Culture, the Arts and Heritage is officially in charge of Chile’s cultural heritage. The Undersecretariat of Cultural Heritage is responsible for developing cultural policies, including those associated with World Heritage properties. The National Monuments Council, which is part of the Ministry of Culture, the Arts and Heritage, is the technical body in charge of supervising and maintaining National Monuments, which is the legal category protecting the Chinchorro archaeological sites. Any changes to the sites must be authorized by this council. The National Cultural Heritage Service acts as technical advisor to World Heritage properties in Chilean territory through the National Centre for World Heritage Sites, which supports the work of site administrators. At the local level, the Chinchorro Marka Corporation is the body in charge of the property’s management system. The current and proposed legal protection of the serial property is based at the national level on Law No. 17288 of National Monuments (1970, substantially modified in 2005 and currently under additional review). At the regional level, Decree No. 4867 (1967) of the Ministry of Education declares all archaeological and palaeontological sites in the Arica and Parinacota Region to be Historical Monuments. The protection established by this Decree covers the archaeological sites in all three component parts of the serial property.
The Desembocadura de Camarones component part and its buffer zone will be protected in the future under the Nature Sanctuary category of Law No. 17288 of National Monuments. The Desembocadura de Camarones component part is protected by Decree No. 240 (2014) of the Ministry of National Defence and the Armed Forces Undersecretariat, which regulates the use of the seashore by non-industrial fishers. Processes related to the nature sanctuary declaration and the renewal of the Regulatory plan of the city of Arica and the Cuya-Caleta Camarones Sectional Plan are still pending and need to be finalized.
The ownership of the three component parts of the property and the two buffer zones is a combination of public and private tenure.
The management system and management plan are comprehensive, well structured, and generally inclusive in terms of stakeholder participation, but they are still under development. The Management Plan of the property (2020-2026) is currently being established. Priority should be given to finalizing, approving and implementing the Management Plan as well as completing and making operational the projected monitoring system.
Systemic documentation and inventorying of the archaeological information already collected needs to be addressed, as well as documentation of areas with potential interest for future investigation. Priority should be given to the development of conservation measures focused on general maintenance and on the identification and rescue of unprotected archaeological remains on the surface. The installation of the basic infrastructure to assure the safety of visitors and the security of the property, the strengthening of general maintenance and the development and application of a Heritage Impact Assessment system are priorities to be tackled. The ethical issues related to the treatment of human remains needs to be addressed. Community outreach activities are key to the success of future management of the property. It will be important to continue these efforts and include in the decision-making processes local stakeholders as well as any community that may have an interest in and connection with the property.
