Peruvian archaeologists unearthed a mummy more than 1,000 years old on the outskirts of Lima on Monday, in the latest discovery dating to pre-Incan times.

The mummy was probably a teenager and was found in an underground tomb wrapped in a burial bundle, along with pottery and rope and including bits of skin and hair.

The mummified teenager was found in a «good state of preservation,» said archaeologist Yomira Huamán, in charge of the Cajamarquilla research project affiliated with the Universidad Nacional Mayor de San Marcos.

While best known for the Inca royal mountaintop retreat of Machu Picchu, Peru was home to several pre-Hispanic cultures that thrived in the centuries before the Inca empire rose to power, primarily along the coast. central part of the country and in the Andes.

The teenager lived between 1,100 and 1,200 years ago, and may have belonged to the Lima or Ichma cultures. The mummy was discovered about 220 meters from where the first Cajamarquilla mummy was found, Huamán explained, referring to another mummy found nearby last year.

The archaeological site is also where the remains of eight children and 12 adults were found, who were apparently sacrificed around 800-1200 years ago.

Archaeologists work at the Cajamarquilla complex near Lima, Peru, on February 13, 2022. File Martín Mejía / AP

The extensive complex of Cajamarquilla presents the ruins of four pyramids and other constructions, such as walls arranged like a maze. The complex is the second largest adobe city in Peru after Chan Chan in the north of the Andean country.

Cajamarquilla was possibly occupied by people from the coast and the Andean highlands, Huamán said. Located in a dusty area about 12 miles from Lima, the site was believed to be a thriving commercial center.