Thousands of years ago, 120 mummies were buried in the Atacama Desert in Chile.
The desert is in the shadows of the Andes, and the area is calculated according to The great Norwegian encyclopedia The driest in the world.
Now a storm is raging in the country, and archaeologists are working according to it Watchman On the run to save the mummies from climate change.
Strong winds, high humidity and increased rainfall mean the mummies are being pushed to the surface.
Landmark: Aerial view of the Chinchoro Mummies Tombs in Camarones, Chile. Photo: Martin Bernetti/AFP
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black gel
Thanks to climate change, there is a risk that the mummies will end up in a puddle of what scientists in English call “black goo”.
In good Norwegian: Svart gugge.
The bumps are caused by bacteria that live and thrive on dry skin surfaces that suddenly come into contact with oxygen.
An ongoing solution: a black sticky substance on the chest of a mummies in Chile. Pictured: Vivian Standen
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He must be buried again
The mummies are of the Chinchoro mummies type, and are among the oldest in the world.
They’ve been lying on the ground for more than 7,000 years, and according to The great Norwegian encyclopedia Discovered in 1917.
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Every time scientists discover that another mummy has surfaced in the Atacama Desert, they rush to dig it up again.
This is to prevent the mummies from melting and ending up as black beaks.
– Every time an object appears, we make a mark and dig it up again. It has been preserved here for 7,000 years, an archaeologist named Campos tells the newspaper.
Fragility: Chinchorro mummies were discovered in 1917. Here, one of them is on display at the San Miguel de Azaba Archaeological Museum in Camarones, Chile. Photo: Martin Bernetti/AFP
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Turns the alarm
The mayor of Camarones, a town close to the mummies, is sounding the alarm to the Guardian:
– If we don’t take care of Shinchoro, it will disappear due to climate change.
Exhibition: Mummies from the Chinchorro culture will be displayed at the Archaeological Museum of San Miguel de Azaba in Camarones, Chile on March 24. Photo: Martin Bernetti/AFP
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new discoveries
Chincheros were a nomadic who lived between Chile and Peu.
Until recently, scientists believed that the Chinchero mummies in the desert were the oldest in the world, but recently, 1,000-year-old mummies were discovered in Portugal.
After a 20-year submission process, the Shinshuru mummies ended up on UNESCO’s World Heritage List last year.
After that, interest in ancient mummies increased, and a new climate-controlled museum is now being built nearby that archaeologists hope could save the mummies.
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