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A group of archaeologists has discovered the tomb of a surgeon from the pre-Columbian Sicán culture in a ceremonial temple in northern Peru. According to what archaeologist Carlos Elera told the France Presse news agency, it is the grave of “a character who carried out the work of Sicán culture surgeonmore than 1,000 years old«.
The finding, which was announced this Wednesday, occurred at the end of 2021 in the Las Ventanas mausoleum temple, in the Bosque de Pómac Historical Sanctuary, in the Lambayeque region, about 800 kilometers north of Lima. The buried belonged to the period of the Middle Sicán culture, which developed between 900 and 1050 after Christaccording to archaeologists.
The character wore a “golden mask” with feathered eyes, a large bronze pectoral and other objects that speak of his status and his function as a surgeon. “He was a specialist in cranial trepanations and its surgical instruments were oriented to everything that was surgery of the human skull, “said Elera, director of the Sicán National Museum.
In ancient Peru, cranial trepanation was a common practice as a surgical procedure to remove bruises or remove parts of skull bones that were probably fractured during warrior clashes.
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Also found in the tomb Surgical instruments such as tumis or knives with a crescent-shaped edge (made of a mixture of gold and silver), dozens of knives with wooden handles, awls and needles. Likewise, the bark of an unknown tree that would be one of the plant species that was used as an analgesic or infusion. “We are comparing the instruments of a modern surgeon with these objects, to see what similarities they have,” said the archaeologist.
The pre-Inca surgeon was buried in a lotus position, sitting cross-legged.
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“In the north of Peru it is not usual to find this type of character,” said the specialist.
Elera indicated that the discovery corresponds to the archaeological investigations initiated between the years 2010-2011 in the southern necropolis of the Huaca (temple) Las Ventanas.
The works restarted last November but ended in January due to the rains in the area.
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Elera stressed that these findings have a similar to what the Paracas culture didon the south coast of Peru (700 BC and 200 AD), famous for trepanations.
The so-called Sicán culture -which emerged around the years 700 to 750 AD and was in force until the year 1375- worshiped the Lord of Sican, the most prestigious religious figure in northern Peru. At that stage there were about seven to eight “lords of Sicán”, who represented the celestial power on earth, which they physically described as having a mask with winged eyes and ears.
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