Inca Mummies -- Mystery in a Bundle

Thousands of Inca mummies—many with hair, skin, and eyes intact—have been rescued from beneath the streets of a sprawling settlement on the outskirts of Lima, Peru. The 500-year-old bodies of more than two thousand men, women, and children were excavated from a large Inca graveyard that may contain as many as 10,000 dead. Above the ground, a few feet over the mummies, thousands of their descendants were going about their daily lives. Archaeologists recovering the bodies found many of them in "mummy bundles," large cocoons that held up to seven individuals and weighed as much as 400 pounds (180 kilograms). Some of the bundles bound adults and children—perhaps entire families—together, wrapped in layers of raw cotton and exquisite textiles.

Koop Films, Inc. shot promotional footage for the show in the DVCam format. We used a Titanium G4 laptop running Final Cut Pro 3 to edit on location and give the client the confidence to say "We've got the shot." After the show airs in May we will show you what we shot on this page.

On the left is John Middelkoop, Lighting Cameraman

© 2003 by Koop Films, Inc.