Experts uncover earliest evidence of SMOKE-DRIED mummification

When it comes to mummification, the Ancient Egyptians usually spring to mind.

But archaeologists have unearthed evidence that show civilisations were using the technique to preserve their dead thousands of years earlier.

Experts have discovered skeletal remains dating back 12,000 years to southern China, where the deceased were smoke–dried prior to burial.

It marks the oldest known proof of human mummification – and represents a ‘remarkably enduring set of cultural beliefs and mortuary practices’.

Researchers analysed human bone samples from 95 pre–Neolithic archaeological sites across southern China.

They recorded burial positions in the ground – predominantly flexed, tightly–crouched or squatting postures, often with signs of tight binding.

They also looked at visible burning and cutting marks on excavated bones.

‘We present evidence to suggest that corpses were…smoked to cure and mummify the skins around their skeletons,’ they wrote.

The team, led by researchers at Australian National University, said the tightly–compacted postures and lack of bone separation linked to decomposition suggests that the bodies were buried in a desiccated, dried–out state, rather than as fresh cadavers.

Analysis of the internal microstructures of selected bone samples identified evidence of exposure to heat, typically at relatively low intensities.

Together, the findings suggest that many of the bodies were treated to an extended period of smoke–drying over a fire prior to burial, they said.

This form of mummification resembles contemporary burial practices recorded in some Indigenous Australian and Highland New Guinea societies.

According to the authors, the findings identify mummification practices in southeastern Asia that persisted for more than 10,000 years and predate those associated with Ancient Egypt and the Chinchorro culture in Chile.

They suggest that as part of the mummification process, corpses were bound to varying degrees often in a hyper–flexed position.

Next, they were placed above a low–temperature fire.

After smoking was completed, the smoked mummy was transferred to a residence, a specially constructed hut, a rock shelter or a cave.

Eventually they were buried, mostly intact except for those that had decayed.

‘In practical terms, smoking was likely the most effective option 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.

‘Nonetheless, the consistency and care in these treatments may suggest that preservation alone was not the sole 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.

Others, meanwhile, believe mummification is linked to a 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?

Natural mummification is defined as the process by which the skin and organs of a deceased person or animal are preserved, without the introduction of chemicals by humans.

It is rare, and only happens in specific situations.

These include: extreme cold, arid conditions, or a lack of oxygen.  

Naturally preserved mummies have been found deposited in deserts, buried in oxygen-poor peat bogs, and frozen in glaciers. 

Some ancient societies accidentally encouraged this process, as they would paint the bodies and cover the deceased person’s face in a mask.

This provided an impervious layer which allowed the process to take place.

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’.

The man, who lived in the fourth century BC, was so well-preserved that he was initially mistaken for a recent murder victim.