3-fingered mummy looks like an ‘alien’

A recent image analysis of the mummy named “Maria” found that it has many biological similarities with humans but still has differences in morphology and anatomical structure, Mail reported on June 24. The mummy’s elongated skull shows no signs of artificial skull deformation.

Maria, number M01, is one of six mummies that reporter and UFOlogist Jaime Maussan found in a tomb in Nazca, a city in southern Peru in 2017. In addition to Maria, the tomb also contained a 9-month-old mummy and a 9-month-old child. 4 men. In 2018, scientists concluded after at least four independent analyzes of DNA samples and other material that it was a modified pre-Columbian mummy.

The latest research was conducted by a group of Peruvian experts. They conducted a magnified examination, allowing a look inside the mummy. Researchers noticed that Maria lacked hair and external ears. It only has the ear canal hole. As researcher Edgar Hernàndez-Huaripaucar at the National University of San Luis Gonzaga and his colleagues describe in the journal Social and Environmental Management, the most notable feature of the skull is its exceptional length but no signs of compression. skull from the outside. The cranial vault shows unusual growth and development, with an elongated shape from back to front. In addition, the skull volume is 30% larger than that of normal people.

CT scans revealed that the mummy had bulging eyes and protruding upper and lower jaw bones. Maria is missing six teeth while the others are severely worn.

However, one of the most impressive and unusual features about humanoid mummies lies in the hands and feet. The width of the bones at the base of the three fingers is uniform, making the hand as wide as a human hand but 20 cm longer. Each finger on the hand has 4 phalanges, different from the 3 phalanges in normal people.

The foot bones are connected to the three toes, and are similar in width to the human foot but 23 cm longer. Each toe also has 4 phalanges instead of 3 like normal people. Compared to a normal human foot, Maria’s heel bone has a different shape and structure. Normally, the human heel bone has a large hump at the back to help support body weight and maintain balance when standing upright on both feet. However, Maria’s heel bone does not have this hump, suggesting that she walked in a hunched position to maintain balance.

New research finds that the mummy was coated in a white powder called diatomaceous earth. This natural powder is not harmful to humans but is used in pesticides because it kills insects through dehydration. Imaging analysis also determined that Maria had arthritis in her hands and feet, and that her spine was damaged.