title: The Tres Ventanas Mummies of Peru.
abstract: The Tres Ventanas mummies of Peru are thought to be among the oldest mummies in existence, dating to between 8,000 and 10,000 years ago. A preliminary assessment is made of the potential of these mummies for use in future research on mummified remains. Although the Tres Ventanas cave and the four mummies were explored and then excavated by Frederic Engel in 1966-67, and the project is named in his honor as the "Engel Study Group", the importance of both the physical remains and the context in which they were found has only come to light in the last few years. Most important is the paleopathological examination of these remains, since these mummies are found in a high altitude area of Peru where adaptation to the limited partial pressure of oxygen is perhaps a key component in broadening our understanding of human diversity in past populations.
authors.affiliation: Paleocardiology Foundation, Columbia St. Mary's Healthcare, Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
authors.forename: L Samuel
authors.initials: LS
authors.lastname: Wann
authors.affiliation: Paleopathology Laboratory, Cátedra Pedro Weiss, Universidad Peruana Cayetano Heredia, Salamanca, Lima, Peru.
authors.forename: Guido
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Lombardi
authors.affiliation: Museo Nacional De Antropología Biodiversidad, Agricultura Y Alimentación (MUNABA Museum), Lima, Peru.
authors.forename: Bernadino
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Ojeda
authors.affiliation: University of Missouri, Columbia, Missouri.|Universidad Nacional La Agraria, Lima, Peru.
authors.forename: Robert A
authors.initials: RA
authors.lastname: Benfer
authors.affiliation: Museo Nacional De Antropología Biodiversidad, Agricultura Y Alimentación (MUNABA Museum), Lima, Peru.
authors.forename: Ricardo
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Rivera
authors.affiliation: Andrus Gerontology Center, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, California.|Davis School of Gerontology, Los Angeles, California.
authors.forename: Caleb E
authors.initials: CE
authors.lastname: Finch
authors.affiliation: Paleocardiology Foundation, California.|Memorial Care Heart and Vascular Institute, Long Beach Memorial Medical Center, Long Beach, California.
authors.forename: Gregory S
authors.initials: GS
authors.lastname: Thomas
authors.affiliation: Paleocardiology Foundation, California.|Saint Luke's Mid America Heart Institute, Kansas City, Missouri.|University of Missouri-Kansas City School of Medicine, Kansas City, Missouri.
authors.forename: Randall C
authors.initials: RC
authors.lastname: Thompson
mesh_terms: D006801:Humans; D009106:Mummies / Q000473:pathology*; D010164:Paleopathology; D010568:Peru
keywords: mummies; mummification; mummy