World's Oldest Evidence of Mummification Found

CANBERRA, AUSTRALIA—Mummification was practiced by various cultures across the world at different times, perhaps most famously by the Egyptians. But according to a statement released by The Australian National University (ANU), a groundbreaking new study recently revealed this behavior dates back thousands of years earlier than previously thought to a somewhat surprising place—southern China and Southeast Asia. Hunter-gatherers in this part of the world often buried their dead in a tightly compact crouching position. The bodies are typically found very well-preserved but display no visible signs of mummification. An international team of researchers recently analyzed 54 burials of these types from 11 archaeological sites across southern China, Vietnam, Indonesia, and other nearby places. Experts determined that the bodies of the deceased individuals had been suspended over a smoky fire for long periods of time, which dried out and essentially mummified the remains while leaving very little evidence of the process. The earliest examples of this practice date back more than 12,000 years—5,000 years older than the mummified persons of South America’s Chinchorro culture, once thought to be the world’s oldest. “This type of smoke-drying is, so far, the oldest demonstrated method of the intentional preservation of corpses that we have on record anywhere in the world,” said ANU Emeritus Professor Peter Bellwood. Read the original scholarly article about this research in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. To read about tattoos on the remains of a mummified person uncovered in the desert of southern China, go to "Ancient Tattoos: Tarim Basin Mummy."