CATAMARCA, ARGENTINA—Radio Cadena Agramonte reports that 12 graves dated to between 6,000 and 1,300 years ago were unearthed in northwestern Argentina by a team of researchers from the University of Buenos Aires–National Scientific and Technical Research Council (CONICET), during investigations over the past 15 years. The tombs were first discovered by local people in Valle del Cajón who alerted authorities. “There was a great variability of the burial methods, in individual or collective graves, and also in the posture of the bodies,” said archaeologist Leticia Cortés. “Some are hyper-flexed, like squatting, with the shoulders touching the knees, others extended and disjointed and mixed,” she explained. Some of the dead were buried with pendants and other jewelry, she added. To read about a 3,000-year-old copper mask unearthed at the site, go to "Andean Copper Age."
