Misti and. Other Peaks, pre-Columbian Ascents. In 1979 the Museo de la Universidad Nacional de San Agustín, Arequipa, released the news that Peruvians had on two occasions in 1966 found in very high, unspecified places on the slopes of Nevado Coropuna two funeral shrouds (leather and cloth), apparently from Inca mummies. This confirms the belief, held since the Spanish conquest, that volcanoes accessible from Arequipa may have been used as altars or sacrificial shrines. In 1977, another Peruvian found on the well known volcano of Misti a gold statuette. As far as Peruvian volcanoes are concerned, objects of Inca origin (statuettes, textiles, ceramics, shrouds, cairns, stone walls, bundles of wood, etc.) have been found on the summit or the slopes of Coropuna (6425 meters, 21,078 feet), Chachani (6071 meters, 19,919 feet), Misti (5827 meters, 19,125 feet), Picchu Picchu (5664 meters, 18,585 feet) and Sara Sara (said to be 5949 meters high, or 19,518 feet). (Information kindly supplied by Sr. Antonio Beorchia, San Juan, Argentina.)

Evelio Echevarria