ISTANBUL - Scientists have uncovered what are believed to be the world's oldest known mummies in Southeast Asia, dating back as far as 12,000 years, Anadolu Ajansi (AA) reported, citing the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS) journal.
The study said researchers uncovered human remains buried in crouched or squatting positions, some bearing cut and burn marks, at archaeological sites across China and Vietnam, with smaller numbers found in the Philippines, Laos, Thailand, Malaysia, and Indonesia.
The remains discovered in China, Vietnam and Indonesia were preserved through prolonged exposure to low heat, despite lacking visible signs typically associated with mummification.
Further analysis of the bones revealed the bodies were likely exposed to heat, indicating that hunter-gatherer communities in the region smoke-dried and mummified the remains over a fire.
"Some of the analysed archaeological samples represent the oldest known instances of such artificial mummification in the world,” the study said.
The study employed multiple techniques, including X-ray diffraction, used for identifying mineral composition, and Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy, which analyses chemical bonds, to analyse 54 pre-Neolithic burials from 11 archaeological sites across Southeast Asia.
While Egypt’s mummies are the most famous, some of the oldest previously known were created around 7,000 years ago by the Chinchorro, a fishing people who lived in what is now Peru and Chile. - BERNAMA-ANADOLU