A study published in the Cambridge Archaeological Journal offers a new psychological perspective on why the Chinchorro culture of northern Chile began mummifying their dead over 7,000 years ago. Anthropologist Bernardo Arriaza posits that the practice may have emerged as a form of 'grief therapy' in response to exceptionally high infant mortality rates caused by natural arsenic poisoning in the Atacama Desert's water supply. The research suggest that transforming the bodies of deceased children into elaborate works of art allowed parents to cope with frequent losses.
The Chinchorro, who were mobile hunter-fishers, used complex techniques to reinforce bodies with sticks and clay, often painting them with black manganese or red ocher. Unlike other civilizations that reserved mummification for elites, the Chinchorro applied it to all members of society, particularly infants. This research shifts the focus from purely ritualistic explanations to an emotional and health-based understanding of the world's oldest deliberate mummification tradition.