When talking about mummification, the ancient Egyptians usually come to mind.
But archaeologists have uncovered evidence showing that civilizations used this technique to preserve their dead thousands of years ago.
Experts have found that skeletal remains date back 12,000 years to southern China, where the deceased was embalmed before burial.
This marks the oldest known evidence of human mummification – and it is “a remarkably enduring set of cultural beliefs and practices regarding mortality”.
The researchers analyzed human bone samples from 95 pre-Neolithic archaeological sites across southern China.
They recorded burial positions in the ground – mostly hunched, tightly clenched or squatting postures, often with signs of tight binding.
They also looked at visible burn and cut marks on excavated bones.
“We present evidence that suggests the corpses were… smoked to cure and mummify the skins around their skeletons,” they wrote.
A mid-sized male individual excavated from Huiyaotian in Guangxi, China, found in a hyper-plexed state and dated to over 9,000 years ago
A young male individual in a hyper-plexed state (left) from the Liyupo site in Guangxi, China, dated to about 7,000 years ago, with a partially burned skull (right)
The team, led by researchers from the Australian National University, said the tightly compacted posture and lack of bone separation associated with decomposition suggest the bodies were buried in desiccation, dried and out of the country, rather than as fresh corpses.
Analysis of the internal microstructures of selected bone samples identified evidence of heat exposure, usually at relatively low intensities.
Together, the findings suggest that many of the bodies were treated in prolonged smoke exposure, which is a direct result of a fire, before burial, they said.
This form of mummification resembles modern burial practices recorded in some indigenous Australian and Highland New Guinean societies.
According to the authors, the findings identify a mummification practice in Southeast Asia that persisted for more than 10,000 years and predates those associated with ancient Egypt and the Chinchorro culture in Chile.
They point out that as part of the mummification process, corpses often underwent varying degrees of embalming, often in a hyper-complexioned state.
Next, they were placed over a low-temperature fire.
After smoking was completed, the smoked mummy was moved to a place of residence, a specially constructed hut, rock shelter, or cave.
This study proposes a scenario for prehistoric smoke-induced mummification, including binding, smoking, and burial
An example of a smoked mummy kept in a private household in Papua, Indonesia, photographed in January 2019
Eventually they were buried, mostly intact except for those that had collapsed.
“In practice, smoking was probably the most effective solution for preserving corpses in tropical climates, where heat and humidity would otherwise have caused rapid decomposition,” they wrote in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences .
“Nevertheless, the consistency and care in these treatments may indicate that preservation alone was not the only consideration.”
They explained that in some communities, people still believe that the spirit of the deceased roams freely during the day and returns to the mummified body at night.
Meanwhile, others believe that mummification is associated with the hope of immortality.
“These beliefs highlight the types of symbolism that might have been attached to the body and its treatment after death,” they concluded.
How do bodies become naturally mummified?
Tollund Man (pictured), who lived in the fourth century BC, is one of the best-studied examples of a “bog body”
Natural mummification is defined as the process of preserving the skin and organs of a deceased person or animal without the introduction of chemicals.
This is rare and only happens in certain situations.
These include: extreme cold, dry conditions, or lack of oxygen.
Naturally preserved mummies have been found deposited in deserts, buried in oxygen-deprived peat bogs, and frozen in glaciers.
Some ancient societies inadvertently encouraged this process, as they would paint bodies and mask the face of the deceased.
This provided an impermeable layer that allowed the process to occur.
Throughout the UK, bogs provide the perfect environment for this to happen.
Tollund Man, discovered in Denmark in 1950, is one of the best-studied examples of a “bog body.”
A man who lived in the fourth century BC was so well preserved that he was initially mistaken for a recent murder victim.
