UNLV anthropology professor Bernardo Arriaza's research on the ancient Chinchorro mummies will be the subject of an upcoming National Geographic television special on NBC.
The special, titled "Ancient Graves: Voices of the Dead," is set to air Nov. 8 (Sunday) at 7 p.m.
Arriaza has spent more than a decade studying the mummies prepared by the Chinchorro people, who lived on the west coast of Chile approximately 8,000 years ago. Although the Chinchorros were a simple people who did not have ceramics or woven cloth, they used very complicated techniques to preserve the bodies of their dead, according to Arriaza.
Their practices of mummification predate those of the Egyptians by approximately 3,000 years.
Last January, a team from National Geographic spent 10 days in Chile with Arriaza filming him at work both in the field and in the laboratory for the special.
The special will be narrated by actress Sally Kellerman.
For more information, contact Arriaza at 895-1114.
