The world’s oldest mummies have been around longer than Egypt’s mummified pharaohs and their ornate tombs — but the ravages of time, human development and climate change are putting these relics at risk.
Chile’s Atacama Desert was once home to the Chincorro people, an ancient population who began mummifying their dead 5,000 years ago, two millennia before the Egyptians, according to Bernando Arriaza, a professor at the University of Tarapaca.
The arid desert has preserved mummified remains and other clues in the environment that provide archaeologists with information about how the Chincorro people lived.
The idea of mummifying bodies likely came from observing other remains naturally undergoing the process amid the dry conditions of the desert. The mummified bodies were also decorated with reed blankets, clay masks, human hair and more, according to archaeologists.
Although UNESCO designated the region as a World Heritage Site, the declaration may not save all the relics. Several museums, including the Miguel de Azapa Archaeological Museum in the ancient city of Arica, showcase Chincorro culture. Some mummies and other relics are safely housed in these climate-controlled exhibits, but the remains still hidden in the arid desert remain at risk.
“If we have an increase in sea surface temperatures, for example along the coast of northern Chile, that would increase atmospheric humidity,” said Claudio LaTorre, a paleoecologist at the Catholic University of Chile. “And that, in turn, would generate decomposition, (in) places where there is no decomposition today, and you would lose the mummies themselves.”
Other clues that archaeologists may find in the environment may also be missed.
“Human-induced climate change is something that we’re really concerned about, because it’s going to change a lot of different things that are shaping the desert today,” LaTorre said.
Arriaza is working to raise awareness about the mummies, hoping this will lead to even greater preservation.
“It’s a big, big challenge because you need to have resources,” said Arriaza. “It’s everyone’s effort towards a common goal, preserving the site, preserving the mummies.”
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