Oldest mummies from southern China and Southeast Asia via smoke drying

An international team of researchers says it has identified the oldest known human mummies, preserved by prolonged smoke drying at sites across southern China and Southeast Asia, in remains that date back as far as the terminal Pleistocene. The findings, published Monday in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, indicate hunter gatherer communities bound bodies in tightly crouched poses and slowly dried them over smoky, low temperature fires in a mortuary practice that may date between roughly 12,000 and 4,000 years ago and in at least one case appears to be older than 14,000 years.

The study, led by Hsiaochun Hung of the Australian National University, examined skeletons from 95 pre agricultural burial sites across southern China, Vietnam and other parts of Southeast Asia and nearby islands. The team applied molecular and spectroscopic methods, including X ray diffraction and infrared spectroscopy, to dozens of bone samples from 11 sites — representing some 54 individuals and 69 skeletal specimens — to test whether the remains had been exposed to heat before burial. More than 90 percent of the tested samples showed evidence of having been heated at relatively low...