New York: Scientists have discovered what’s thought to be the oldest know mumies in the world in the world in southeastern asia dating back up to 12,000 years. Mummification Prevents Decay by Preserving Dead Bodies. The process can happen naturally in places like the sands of chile’s atacama desert or the bogs of ireland where conditions can be given off decomposition. Humans Across Various Cultures also mummified their ancestors through embalming to honor them or send their souls to the afterlife. Egypt’s mummies may be the most well-known, but until now some of the oldest mummies were prepared by a fishing people called the chinchorro about 7,000 years ago A new study published monday in the journey proceedings of the national academy of Sciences pushes that timeline back. Researchers found human remains that was buried in crouched or squatted positions with some cuts and burn marks in various archaeeological sites across across China and Vietnam and to a Lesseer exchange Philippines, laos, Thailand, Malaysia, and Indonesia. Study the bones further, scientists discovered the bodies were likely exposed to heat. That suggested the bodies Had been smoke-dared over a fire and mummified by hunter-gathereer communities in the area. The practice “Allowed people to Sustain Physical and Spiritual Connections with their ancestors, Bridging Time and Memory,” Study Author Hirofumi Matsumura with Sapporo Medical UNIVERO UNIVERO READICAL UNIVERE in Japan Said Email. Dating Methods Used on the Mummies Could Have Been More Robust and It’s Not Yet Clear That Mummies Were Consistently SMOKE-Dered Across Across Across All The Locations in Southeastern Assia, SAID HUMAN EVON EVON EVON EVON EVOLTION Rita Peyroteo Stjerna with UPPSALA University in Sweden, who was not involved with the research. The Findings Offer “An important contribution to the study of prehistoric funerary practices,” She said in an email. Mummies are from a thing of the past. Even today, indigenous communities in Australia and Papua New Guinea Smoke-Dry and Mummify their dead, scientists said.