Groundbreaking Discovery: 12,000-Year-Old Smoke-Dried Mummies Found in Asia Reshape Ancient History
Groundbreaking Discovery: 12,000-Year-Old Smoke-Dried Mummies Found in Asia Reshape Ancient History
A new study published Monday in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences reveals the discovery of what are believed to be the world’s oldest known mummies, dating back up to 12,000 years in Southeast Asia. This groundbreaking finding significantly pushes back the timeline of mummification practices, predating the well-known Egyptian and Chinchorro mummies.
Researchers uncovered human remains in crouched or squatted positions, exhibiting cuts and burn marks, across various archaeological sites in China, Vietnam, and other parts of Southeast Asia. Further analysis of the bones suggested the bodies were likely exposed to heat, indicating a unique smoke-drying mummification process employed by ancient hunter-gatherer communities.
Hirofumi Matsumura, a study author from Sapporo Medical University in Japan, noted that this practice likely allowed communities to maintain profound physical and spiritual connections with their ancestors. Hsiao-chun Hung, a senior research fellow at Australian National University, expressed surprise at the extreme antiquity of the tradition, highlighting its connection to practices still observed in some indigenous communities today.
The study proposes that this smoke-drying mummification may have been a widespread tradition among hunter-gatherer societies across a vast Asian region for millennia. While some experts, like Rita Peyroteo Stjerna from Uppsala University, suggest further robust dating methods are needed, the findings offer a crucial contribution to understanding prehistoric funerary practices and the enduring human desire to preserve loved ones.
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