12,000 -year -old distorted skeletons bring proof of oldest mummification

The rank of the oldest known mummies has so far been held by the more than 7000-year-old finds of Chinchorro culture, which once colonized the Chilean Atacama. They followed by the most famous mummies, those of ancient Egypt who died back to 4500 years. A team of Australian and Chinese researchers is now convinced: the analyzes of up to 12,000 years old human remains indicate that mummification, i.e. the artificial preservation of corpses, could be a much older practice.