Baltimore Museum Unveils Ancient Chancay Ritual Mask

A wooden funerary mask dating to the pre‑Inca Chancay culture (c. 1000‑1450 AD) has been examined at the Walters Art Museum in Baltimore, Maryland. The mask, originally used by the Chancay people of Peru's central coast, was wrapped in multiple layers of textiles, plant fibers and animal skins and topped with a wig made of real human hair. Scientific analyses, including X‑ray fluorescence spectroscopy, confirmed the hair and identified a red pigment containing mercury sulfide, a material used in the culture’s ritual rites. The mask’s stylised facial features – diamond‑shaped eyes, a triangular nose and a subtle upward‑curved smile – were intended not to portray the deceased’s likeness but to symbolize an ancestral “father figure” linking the living, the dead and the earth.

The discovery provides new insight into Chancay funerary practices, which involved enclosing the body in elaborate bundles and placing personal items, food and figurines inside. It highlights the sophisticated artistic and ceremonial traditions of a community that, while not as widely known as the later Inca Empire, demonstrated advanced textile work, ceramic production and ritual symbolism.