It had been buried in an ornately painted funerary complex of adobe in about A. Inside lay the naturally mummified body of a young female aristocrat from the Moche culture, which flourished in that region a thousand years before the Inca. The mummy is known locally as the Señora of Cao, named after a nearby town, Magdalena de Cao. The noblewoman lived and died 1,600 years ago among the Moche of ancient Peru. Her grave included four tall V-shaped crowns and other riches. Scientists used the latest 3D technology to produce an amazingly lifelike reconstruction. Left: Photograph by Ira Block, Nat Geo Image Collection; Right: Photograph by Fundación Augusto N. They also needed to make a permanent record of her remains, which will inevitably break down with the passage of time. The solution was to create as faithful a reproduction of her face as technology would allow, as well as an exact replica of the body in its current state. Assembling an international team of archaeologists, physical anthropologists, forensic scientists and artists, and engineers specializing in 3D technology, the Augusto N. Wiese Foundation launched the project last November. The foundation has supported research at El Brujo since excavations began there in 1990 under the direction of. The Señora was only in her mid to late 20s when she died. Why she was buried with all the finery, and precisely what role she played in her community are still mysteries. To solve the mystery of what she looked like, investigators first had to produce digital images of her mummy. In similar cases, such as King Tut and Ötzi the Iceman, bodies have been scanned with a stationary medical CT machine. But the Señora had her pictures taken with state-of-the-art, hand-held laser scanners designed by , a 3D technology company. From there, they proceeded as if she were a homicide victim—in a very old, very cold case. They placed tissue-depth markers according to averages gleaned from cadavers, and then added the facial muscles. The Señora, in fact, is not in the best of shape. Her lips have retracted, her nose is gone, and her eyes and eyelids are dry and sunken. That meant the experts had to rely on other sources for clues about what she may have looked like: the people portrayed on Moche pottery, studies of excavated Moche skeletons, photographs of northern Peruvians taken a century ago, and the faces of Moche descendants who live in the area around El Brujo today. Once the face had been fleshed out on the computer, the entire head was printed in 3D. A model for a museum display was then created in fiberglass. But that model was as blank as a mannequin, bringing up another set of questions. What did her eyebrows and eyelashes look like? What was the shade of her skin? And to make her come to life fully, she also needed clothing and jewelry that were appropriate to her elevated status. Fernández López worked out those details with a sculptor who specializes in recreating historical figures for museums. Set to open at the end of August, it will also include displays on the technology that the project used, the visual resources that were consulted, and various interactive presentations. The locals have already embraced the Señora as one of their own, often representing her in civic events and school activities.
