The mummies found in Southeast Asia may be the oldest in the world, because, according to scientists, their age is 12,000 years old. The scientists found that the bodies were probably exposed to heat, and thought they were dried with smoke on fire and mummified.
When it comes to mummified, ancient Egyptians often appear in their minds. But archaeologists have discovered evidence that civilizations used mummified techniques to preserve thousands of years ago. Scientists are found in Southeast Asia, what may be the oldest among the famous mummies in the world, and some preserved remains are thought to be 12,000 years.
The researchers have discovered that the human remains were buried in a fed site with some cuts and traces of burns, in different archaeological sites across China and Vietnam.
Other remains were found in the Philippines, Laos, Thailand, Malaysia and Indonesia, reporting Sky News.
In a study published in the Procheding magazine of the National Academy of Sciences, scientists found that the bodies were probably exposed to heat, and said they were dried in their shares and mummified.
The researchers have analyzed human skeletal samples from 95 archaeological monuments of the new stone period in southern China. They recorded the burial position on the ground – mainly bent, compressed or squatted, often traces of dense binding. They also studied the visible traces of burns and cuts on the excavation bone.
We give evidence that the corpses … smoked to treat and marinate the skin around their skeleton, they wrote.
The author of Hirofumi Matsumura's study from Sapporo Medical University in Japan noted that this fact “allows people to maintain their physical and mental connection with their ancestors, connect time and memory.”
Although mummified can happen naturally in places where conditions can prevent decomposition, different cultures also mummify their ancestors through Balming to honor their memories or bring their souls to the afterlife.
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Egyptian mummies are the most famous, but some of the oldest mummies have been prepared by the Chinchorro fishermen about 7000 years ago in Peru and modern Chile, it recalled Sky News.
Today, the indigenous communities of Australia and Papua – New Guinea also perform their smoking, drying and mummified.
Rita Peyrooto Steerna, an expert in the development of Uppsala University in Sweden, who did not participate in a study published on Monday, expressed some doubts about this study, saying that dating methods used could be more reliable.
She added that it is unclear whether the mummies will be smoked continuously in different places of Southeast Asia, but in an email, Associated Press adds that the findings are an important contribution of the Viking people in the study of prehistoric burial practice.
