site in the Pre-Incan city of Chan Chan [Credit: Johnny Aurazo]
The mummy was found Tuesday morning in a fetal position, tied with a rope, in a cardboard box near trash outside an archeological site in the Pre-Incancity of Chan Chan.
"[The cleaners] thought it was rubbish and put it in the compactor but one cleaner opened it up and discovered it was a mummy,'' said David Carrasco, municipal security at Huanchaco District, according to Reuters.
If it wasn't for the one cleaner, it's very possible the ancient discovery would have been thrown out for good.
According to local media reports, the mummy, believed to be an adult because of the size of its teeth, was taken to the police station.
Police have reportedly not ruled out the possibility that the mummy was left in a cardboard box in a botched robbery attempt from its original burial location at the archaeological site. The mummy was found in a building in front of the site.
The skeletal remains will be sent to the Ministry of Culture for analysis to determine its age.
Chan Chan is the largest Pre-Columbian city in South America. It flourished as a major capital of 30,000 people until its conquest by the Inca Empire in 1470.
The Minister of Culture told Peru's El Comercio newspaper that the mummy may be pre-Hispanic and may belong to the Chimu culture.
Source: Fox News Latino [April 16, 2015]