Sunday, February 17, 2019, 3:00pm
Brian Bauer, Professor of Anthropology, University of Illinois-Chicago
Title: Searching for the Royal Inca Mummies

Abstract:
Like many state level societies, the Incas mummified their dead kings. Several times a year these mummies were assembled in the plaza of Cuzco for all to see. During the rest of the year the mummies could be seen in their royal palaces in Cuzco or in nearby royal estates. However, the fate of the mummified kings following the Spanish conquest of Peru has never been resolved. Several lines of evidence indicate that five of the royal mummies were deposited in the Hospital of San Andrés in Lima in 1560. In this presentation, I summarize what is currently known concerning the fate of the royal Inca mummies as well as the results of a recent ground-penetrating radar survey and an archaeological testing program which we conducted on the hospital grounds. While we did not find the royal mummies, the historical research and archaeological field work yielded new information on the history of the San Andrés compound and life in Lima during Early Colonial times.

Brian Bauer is an archaeologist focused on the development of complex societies in the Americas and the European—American contact period. research projects generally revolve around his theoretical interests in the development of social inequalities and require the extensive use of both archaeological data (survey and excavations) and historical research (classic chronicles and archival documents). Professor Richard is best known for his work in the Cuzco region and of the Inca Empire.

For more information about the AIA Lecture Series, visit them at https://aia-milwaukee.uwm.edu/lectures/