Scientists may have found what are thought to be the world's oldest mummies in southeastern Asia.
A study published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences claims that the mummies could be 4,000 to 12,000 years old.
The finding documents smoke-dried mummification of the dead, mostly in tightly bound crouched postures, across a vast region encompassing southeastern Asia, southern China and beyond.
The human remains discovered show some cuts and burn marks. According to scientists, the bodies were probably smoke-dried over a fire and mummified by hunter-gatherer communities in the area.
To assess potential heat exposure in the skeletal remains, X-ray diffraction analysis was conducted on 20 archaeological bone samples from sites in Vietnam. The technique is particularly effective in detecting high-temperature thermal alterations.
The oldest of these newly-discovered burials predate the mummification associated with the Chinchorro culture, approximately 7,000 years ago in northern Chile, and Ancient Egypt, approximately 4,500 years ago.
Mummification is the process of preserving a dead body by preventing decay. The methods of embalming or treating a body were most famously used by Egyptians. The process involved removing all moisture, leaving only a dried form that would not easily decay.
Natural mummification involves preservation by environment through processes like desiccation in hot and dry climates or freeze-drying in extreme cold.
