Peruvian police seized this weekend a pre-Hispanic mummy “600 to 800 years old” in the cooler bag of a former home delivery man claiming to have kept it at his home for more than 30 years.
Julio Cesar Bermejo, 26, has been remanded in custody, authorities said on Tuesday.
The Ministry of Culture indicated that “the pre-Hispanic cultural property”, estimated between “600 and 800 years old”, has been identified as that of “a mummified adult male individual, presumably originating from the eastern part of Puno”, region of the Peruvian Andes, regarding 1300 km southeast of Lima.
Police discovered the mummy curled up during a check on Saturday in a park in Puno.
In a video that has gone viral on social networks, Julio Cesar Bermejo explains to a local journalist that the mummy, “affectionately” named “Juanita”, had been kept for “almost 30 years” in his family home.
AFP
According to him, she had been picked up by her father from a policeman who owed her money.
“At home, she is in my room, she sleeps with me. I take care of her, I keep her, she is like my spiritual girlfriend,” added the young man.
However, according to the Ministry of Culture “it’s not Juanita, it’s Juan”, explaining that following a quick analysis of the cranial box it would be the body of a man of at least 45 years old.
Julio Cesar Bermejo denied having wanted to sell the mummy, and claimed to carry it in his insulated backpack to show it to his “friends” before donating it to a museum in the region.
AFP
“If I misbehave, she punishes me,” the young man said, describing the mummy as having “energy.”
The Ministry of Culture “immediately ordered the seizure” of the mummified remains “in order to protect and preserve the heritage”.
Peru has an important pre-Hispanic heritage. The flagship tourist destination is the citadel of Machu Picchu, built in the 15th century by the Inca emperor Pachacutec near Cusco (south), the former Inca imperial capital.