The tomb of a surgeon from the pre-Columbian Sicán culture, whose age is estimated to be between 900 and 1,050 years old, was discovered by a group of archaeologists in a ceremonial temple in northern Peru, the researchers said on Wednesday.
“We were able to find the tomb of a character who played the role of surgeon in the Sicán culture, which is more than 1,000 years old,” Peruvian archaeologist Carlos Elera told AFP.
The discovery was made in late 2021 at the Las Ventanas mausoleum temple, in the Bosque de Pómac Historic Sanctuary, in the Lambayeque region, about 800 km north of Lima.
The character wore a “golden mask” and acted as a surgeon. It belonged to the middle period of the Sicán culture, which developed between the years 900 and 1,050 after Christ, according to archaeologists.
“The character was a specialist in cranial trepanation and his surgical instruments were oriented to everything that involved procedures on the human skull,” said Elera, who directs the Sicán National Museum.
In Peru in ancient times, cranial trepanation was a common practice, a surgical procedure to eliminate bruises or remove parts of fractured bones from the head, probably during clashes and wars.
Surgical instruments and golden mask
The tomb contained a golden mask with feathered eyes, a large bronze breastplate and other objects that reveal the status of the ancient character, who was buried in the lotus flower position, sitting cross-legged.
“In northern Peru, it is not common to find this type of character”, highlighted the expert.
In the tomb were also found surgical instruments such as tumis —a knife in the shape of the letter “T” typical of Incan civilizations — and other sharp objects with a half-moon-shaped edge (made of a mixture of gold and silver), dozens of knives with wooden handles, awls and needles. In addition, there was bark from an unknown tree that would be one of the plant species used as an analgesic or for infusions.
“We are comparing the instruments of a modern surgeon with these objects, to see what their similarities are”, commented the archaeologist.
Elera indicated that the discovery corresponds to archaeological research started between 2010 and 2011 in the southern necropolis of Huaca (temple) Las Ventanas.
Work was resumed in November last year, but had to be completed in January because of the rains in the region.
Elera highlighted that the findings have similarities with the practices of the Paracas culture, on the southern coast of Peru (between 700 BC and 200 AD), famous for trepanations.
The so-called Sicán culture —which emerged around the years 700 and 750 AD and was present until the year 1375—worshipped the Lord of Sicán, the most revered religious personage in northern Peru.
In this period, there were about seven or eight “Lords of Sicán”, who represented the heavenly power on earth, which they physically described with a mask with eyes and ears in the shape of wings.
