...in Peace

* this entry from hmm..forgot to write the date, likely3/26, nope maybe 3/24 *
...in Peace, Museo Chileno de Arte Precolombino, Santiago

On a projector screen, a man is slurping the insides of a sea urchin. Earlier he tricked an octopus by dangling bait in front of its liar. The octupus emerged from its hiding place, only to be stabbed by a sharp weapon, and later laid on a rock where it was beaten on its head. To their credit, it´s been mentioned that octopuses put up a good fight, even getting their tentacles in the noses of sea lions when attacked. I would have preferred to see this octopus stick its tubercles up this fellow´s nose.

Here at the temporary exhibit at Santiago´s Museo Chileno de Arte Precolombino, life and death seems to be somewhat of subject. On display -- Pescadores de la niebla: Los Changos y sus ancestros; the culture of the Chinchorro Groups who settled in Peru and Chile between 5000and 1500yrs BC. Despite the simple life they were said to live, they had a complex ritual treatment of their dead, which predates the first Egyptian Mummies by around 3000 years.

Rest In Peace, a chinchorro mummy; image from artslivres.com

A video shows the mummification process:
- flesh and inner organs removed
- skeleton dismembered
- skull broken in half and filled with plant fibers and ashes before being put back together
- sticks to reinforce the body
- plant fibers woven around the joints and the structure
- plant fibers and ashes filled into the torso, wrapped and remodeled
- a layer of clay
- deceased skin fragments placed on top
- a layer of manganeso paste

A sign greets visitors entering and exiting the room, ´´...exhibit pays homage to history of Los Changos...to show that simplicity.... is often the reflection of an intelligent balance with the environment in which one lives´´