The Chinchorro people lived by fishing, hunting and gathering in the region of Arica and Parinacota.
This is where some 300 artificially made mummies dating back to more than 5,000 BC were discovered at the beginning of the 20th century, some 2,000 years older than those in Egypt.
A short mane of black hair was sewn to the scalp.
The mummies could then be painted with colored earth, pigments, manganese and ferric oxide.
"These are very elaborate bodies, made by specialists," said Chilean anthropologist Bernardo Arriaza, director of the Chinchorro Center at the University of Tarapaca in Arica (UTA).
Unesco has distinguished three sites: the archaeological museum of the University, and two sites where mummies and remains of dwellings have been found.
Chinchorro mummies on display at the San Miguel de Azapa Archaeological Museum on March 24, 2022 in Camarones, Chile Martin BERNETTI AFP
Why the Chinchorro mummified their dead remains an enigma.
In 2005, Bernardo Arriaza launched the hypothesis of arsenic poisoning due to locally consumed water, which would have caused premature births, miscarriages and high infant mortality.
Mummification would be "an emotional response from the parents to the pain of these losses, so they paint them, adorn them, and little by little this technique becomes more elaborate", explains the specialist.
Chinchorro mummies on display at the San Miguel de Azapa Archaeological Museum on March 24, 2022 in Camarones, Chile Martin BERNETTI AFP
The 44th session of the UNESCO World Heritage Committee is being held online from Fuzhou (China) until Wednesday.
© 2022 AFP