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The Oldest Mummies in the World May Hail From Southeastern Asia and Date Back 12,000 Years
Study of 54 skeletons from 11 sites reveals hunter-gatherers practiced smoke-dried mummification for over 12,000 years, predating Egyptian methods by 7,000 years, researchers report.
- Researchers found the oldest evidence of human mummification in Asia, with an arm bone dating to about 14,000 years ago in northern Vietnam.
- The discovery was made after examining 54 crouched burials from 11 locations dated from roughly 12 millennia to 4 millennia in the past, spanning areas of southern China, northern Vietnam, and Sumatra.
- The study revealed that people prepared their dead by positioning bodies over low-temperature fires to dry remains with smoke before burial, a practice sustained by profound love and spiritual devotion.
- Lead author Dr. Hsiao-chun Hung said the findings push back mummification timelines by thousands of years and reflect a timeless human impulse: "families and loved ones might remain together forever."
- These results imply complex burial traditions among hunter-gatherers, revealing an interplay of technique, culture, and belief in pre-Neolithic Southeast Asia.
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Researchers discover mummies that are even older than the Egyptians. They have been prepared over months above the fire and show the devotion of their relatives.
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Total News Sources113
Leaning Left23Leaning Right12Center40Last UpdatedBias Distribution53% Center
Bias Distribution
- 53% of the sources are Center
53% Center
L 31%
C 53%
R 16%
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