She was buried with several jewels and luxury items specific to the pre-Columbian era nobility. Now, for the first time, researchers have seen what the Queen Huamey looked like.
The woman was buried next to 57 other aristocrats from the Wari culture, an ancient people who owned South American regions and preceded the Incas, writes Newsweek.
Examinations revealed that she was about 60 years old when she died and that she stood still on the lower side of the body, although she used extensively the upper side of her body, suggesting she was weaving. The cultures of that region and that period were known for their fabrics, producing among the most remarkable textiles and considered to be more precious than gold or other jewelry.
In an attempt to understand more about that woman, archaeologists Milosz Gierz and Roberto Pimentel Nita, who discovered the tomb in 2012, wanted to rebuild the facial features of the person. They asked for help from researcher Oscar Nilsson who printed a 3D version of her skull and then rebuilt her hand features. The project lasted for 220 hours.
The result is also reflected in Gierz’s statement: “When I first saw the reconstruction, I saw some of my native friends in that face.”
