National Geographic this month will begin filming a television special about the work of UNLV associate professor Bernardo Arriaza involving Chilean mummies.

Arriaza, a physical anthropologist, has spent more than a decade studying the Chinchorro mummies of Chile. The Chinchorros were a people who lived at the edge of the Atacama Desert on Chile's west coast approximately 8,000 years ago. Their practices of mummification pre-date those of the Egyptians by approximately 3,000 years.

Although the Chinchorros were a simple people who didn't have ceramics or woven cloth, they used very complicated techniques to preserve the bodies of their dead, according to Arriaza. The elaborate process involved skinning, eviscerating, and then reconstructing the bodies with the help of clay, sticks, and ropes.

Arriaza and a team from National Geographic will leave for Chile on Jan. 7. The team will film Arriaza working in the field as well as in a laboratory. Actors will be used for the filming of a reconstruction of the daily life and ceremonies of the Chinchorros, who sustained themselves by fishing in the Pacific ocean. Some of the filming will be done at the museum at the Universidad de Tarapaca.

"This is so exciting for me," Arriaza said. "I know how much I have learned from my work on the mummies. They have provided me with a real insight into an ancient and little-known culture. The National Geographic special will give me a great way to share what I have learned with others."

Arriaza said it is amazing what researchers can learn from studying the mummies. Information about the diseases and diet of the people - as well as about their everyday life - can be inferred by what is learned from the mummies, according to Arriaza.

From his study, Arriaza has come to believe that the Chinchorros were a closely knit society in which class distinction was absent. The men's work involved carrying heavy loads, while the women's chores involved a great deal of squatting, he says.

The filming in Chile will take place through Jan. 17. No date yet has been set for the broadcast of the special.

After his return from South America, Arriaza can be contacted at 895-1114.