Scientists found the oldest mummies on Earth

Danish researchers from the University of Copenhagen have discovered mummified burials older than those in Egypt and Latin America. They reported this in an article published in PNAS.

"The oldest of these burials (in Southern China and Southeast Asia) predate the mummification of the Chinchorro culture (northern Chile) and Ancient Egypt (Old Kingdom). The discovered burial samples from Southeast Asia highlight a surprisingly persistent set of cultural beliefs and burial practices that persisted for more than 10,000 years among hunter-gatherer communities that were connected to the indigenous populations of New Guinea and Australia," write the authors of the scientific article.

Studies of 54 burials indicated the same signs of treatment of human remains with smoke and low temperatures. At the same time, as noted, the burial postures differ in rather peculiar forms - with strong bending or binding of limbs.

"Similar examples of bent, distorted, and sometimes partially burned burials have also been excavated at (archaeological) sites in northern Vietnam, Sarawak, southern Java, and northern Palawan (Philippines)," write the Danish scientists.

According to the authors of the study, such ritual practices had a sacred meaning in maintaining the connection between the world of the living and the dead.