Remains of mummified man, more than 500 years old, turn up in delivery man's backpack

PUNO, Peru (TND) — The remains of a mummified man who lived before Christopher Columbus discovered the New World have been found in a very unexpected place: a delivery man's backpack.

Peru’s Culture Ministry announced the remains of “a mummified adult male individual” were found in a red bag commonly used by food delivery companies in the country.

Pictures it released from Puno, near Lake Titicaca and the Bolivian border, show the skeleton in a fetal position.

The government said it “verified the authenticity of the pre-Hispanic cultural asset, with approximately a relative chronology of 600 and 800 years old.

The news organization EFE reported a preliminary investigation found the man was more than 45 years old and just under 5 feet tall.

The find reportedly happened when police found three men drinking.

One of them had the delivery backpack and told authorities he kept the mummy in his parents' house and took it out to show it to his neighborhood friends.

The government said it took ownership of the remains “to protect and preserve the heritage” of the country.