Mummification invention have been linked to climate

Archaeologists have linked the invention of mummification in ancient South American culture Chinchorro with the onset of the temporary wet period in the climate of the Atacama. The work is published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

Hunters and gatherers Chinchorro mummies lived about 10 thousand years ago in the Atacama Desert, in the territory of modern Chile and Peru. Around 7,000 years ago, they invented the world's first artificial mummification, but the causes of this practice, archaeologists are still not clear. The fact that the emergence of complex cults usually occurs in complex farming communities, communities and the number of collectors Chinchorro on average no more than a hundred people.