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Earliest evidence of smoke-dried mummification: More than 10,000 years ago in southern China and Southeast Asia.

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Title: Earliest evidence of smoke-dried mummification: More than 10,000 years ago in southern China and Southeast Asia.
Authors: Hung, Hsiao-chun1 hsiao-chun.hung@anu.edu.au, Deng, Zhenhua2,3 zhenhuadeng@pku.edu.cn, Liu, Yiheng2,3, Ran, Zhiyu2,3, Zhang, Yue1, Li, Zhen4, Kaifu, Yousuke5, Huang, Qiang6, Nguyen, Khanh Trung Kien7, Le, Hai Dang8, Xie, Guangmao4,9, Nguyen, Anh Tuan8, Yamagata, Mariko10, Simanjuntak, Truman11, Noerwidi, Sofwan12, Fauzi, Mohammad Ruly12, Tolla, Marlin12, Wetipo, Alpius13, He, Gang14, Sawada, Junmei15
Source: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America. 9/23/2025, Vol. 122 Issue 38, p1-12. 12p.
Subjects: Mummification, Archaeology, Pleistocene Epoch, Hunter-gatherer societies, Interment, Holocene Epoch
Geographic Terms: China, Southeast Asia
Abstract: In southern China and Southeast Asia (collectively, Southeastern Asia), Terminal Pleistocene and Early to Middle Holocene (ca. 12,000 to 4,000 cal. BP) hunter-gatherer burials feature tightly crouched or squatting postures, sometimes with indications of post-mortem dismemberment. Such burials contrast strongly with the extended supine burial postures typical of subsequent Neolithic inhumations in these regions. Their contorted postures, often with traces of burning, present interpretive challenges. This study uses multiple techniques, including X-ray diffraction and Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy, to investigate 54 pre-Neolithic burials from 11 archaeological sites located across Southeastern Asia. The findings confirm that many of these pre-Neolithic flexed and squatting burials were treated by an extended period of smoke-drying over fire, a process of mummification similar to that recorded ethnographically in some Australian and Highland New Guinea societies. Some of the analyzed archaeological samples represent the oldest known instances of such artificial mummification in the world. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
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Database: Engineering Source
Description
Abstract:In southern China and Southeast Asia (collectively, Southeastern Asia), Terminal Pleistocene and Early to Middle Holocene (ca. 12,000 to 4,000 cal. BP) hunter-gatherer burials feature tightly crouched or squatting postures, sometimes with indications of post-mortem dismemberment. Such burials contrast strongly with the extended supine burial postures typical of subsequent Neolithic inhumations in these regions. Their contorted postures, often with traces of burning, present interpretive challenges. This study uses multiple techniques, including X-ray diffraction and Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy, to investigate 54 pre-Neolithic burials from 11 archaeological sites located across Southeastern Asia. The findings confirm that many of these pre-Neolithic flexed and squatting burials were treated by an extended period of smoke-drying over fire, a process of mummification similar to that recorded ethnographically in some Australian and Highland New Guinea societies. Some of the analyzed archaeological samples represent the oldest known instances of such artificial mummification in the world. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
ISSN:00278424
DOI:10.1073/pnas.2515103122