The Sarcophagi of Carajía (, or ) are unusually large pre-Inca Chachapoyas culture sarcophagi at the archaeological site of Carajía in the Utcubamba Valley, located 48 km northwest of the city of Chachapoyas, Peru in Luya Province, Amazonas Region. The site contains eight Chachapoyan mummies located on a cliffside, referred to by local residents as the “ancient wise men”. The Chachapoya culture had the tradition of protecting their dead and located their sarcophagi in protected difficult to get to locations. The Sarcophagi of Carajía are unique in their genre for their large size, up to 2.50 m high, for their careful making, and, for the fact that they were remained practically intact because of their location atop a ravine of difficult access. Description The seven sarcophagi stand up to 2.5 meters tall, constructed of clay, sticks and grasses, with exaggerated jawlines. Their inaccessible location high above a river gorge has preserved them from destruction by looters. However, an earthquake toppled one of the original eight in 1928. They have been radiocarbon dated to the 15th century, coincident with the Inca conquest of the Chachapoya in the 1470s. The sarcophagi are of a type particular to the Chachapoya called purunmachus. The construction is painted white and overlaid with details of the body and adornment in yellow ochre and two red pigments, such as the feathered tunics and male genitalia visible on the Carajía purunmachus. Often the solid clay head will boast a second, smaller head atop it. The purunmachus of Carajía are unique because of the human skulls that sit atop their heads, visible in the photograph. Antisuyo expedition Although the model of burial using coffins of anthropomorphous shape and sarcophagi, was already mentioned in the Mercurio Peruano (1791) as part of the cultural area of Chachapoyas, and it deserved the attention of Louis Langlois (1939) and of the archaeologists Henry and Paule Reichlen (1950), this Chachapoyas's peculiarity of burying their illustrious deceased was almost completely forgotten. The Antisuyo Expedition/84 located, at Carajía, the most amazing group of sarcophagi known till then, thanks to references provided by Carlos Torres Mas and Marino Torrejón. It was remaining completely unpublished and still untouched. Thanks to the support given by members of the Club Andino Peruano, the archaeologists were able to climb 24 m of rocky vertical wall and gain access to the cave where the sarcophagi are located. This place is located to