The Lady of Cao, the Peruvian mummy found in 2006, some 1,700 years ago after her death, has had her face revealed though 3D printing, and she has that don't-mess-with-me look of your boss.
The Lady of Cao, who was believed to be a powerful ancient female leader, was part of the Moche culture of northern Peru, according to the BBC News. Her body was found at the pyramid ruins known as Huaca Cao Viejo, near Trujillo, Peru.
Scientists were able to reconstruct her face by analyzing her bone structure of her skull and remains. A modern autopsy showed that she was in her 20s when she died, probably of childbirth or pregnancy complications, noted BBC News.
"Its relevance is really incalculable," Peru's culture minister Salvador del Solardel Solar said of the oval-shaped face with high cheekbones of Lady of Cao, per the Sydney Morning Herald. "We can now show the world her face, a face that Peruvians see ourselves in."
The mummy was found with tattoos of snakes, spiders and other supernatural motifs.
A strangled adolescent was found near her, who researchers believe may have been a sacrifice to guide her into the afterlife, according to the museum at the El Brujo archaeological site where she was found.
The BBC News said the richness of Lady of Cao's burial site suggests she might have been a priestess or even a political ruler, challenging the previously held thoughts that only men held high positions in ancient Moche society.
Several Moche female mummies have been found since in graves with objects denoting a high political and religious standing.
"The Moche culture left a great architectural legacy as an expression of art, power and prestige of one of the biggest cultural developments of ancient Peru, comparable with the great civilizations of the world," said the El Brujo site's museum website. "We invite you to appreciate the richness of this society from the presente view. They left us a future. The discovery of the Lady of Cao is proof of that."
The Moche, who occupied the Chicama Valley from about 100 to 700 AD, built irrigation canals to grow crops in the desert and were known for their ceramics and gold work that have been looted from their gravesites, said the Morning Herald.
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