The Chachapoya sarcophagi of Karajía

Record summary

The monumental anthropomorphic sarcophagi at Karajía, associated with the Chachapoya tradition, became an important subject of archaeological documentation in the 1960s. Their cliffside placement and humanlike forms encouraged romantic descriptions of a mysterious lost civilization, whereas regional archaeology places them within funerary practices, settlement systems and later Inca-era history. The lead supports comparison of mortuary architecture, landscape placement and oral or colonial descriptions. Exact dates, construction sequences and relationships among Chachapoya groups remain matters for specialist research.