World’s oldest mummies discovered in Asia

Hunter-gatherers in parts of ancient Asia prepared their dead for burial with smoke-drying up to 14,000 years ago, resulting in the oldest known evidence of human mummification, CNN writes.

People around the world have long practiced mummifying, or preserving organic remains, using various techniques — including heat, smoke, salts, freeze-drying and embalming — to remove moisture from the body’s soft tissues and prevent decay. The remains from China, Vietnam and Indonesia that scientists investigated weren’t visibly mummified. However, examination of charring on the skeletons — which were buried after being tightly folded into squatting positions — showed signs that they had been exposed to low heat over long periods of time, which would have dried out and preserved the bodies.

Previously, the earliest examples of mummification came from the Chinchorro culture in northern Chile dating back around 7,000 years and ancient Egypt about 4,500 years.