Adventures in strange anthropological mysteries: the tiny “Atacama Alien”  is indeed human. But that makes it even stranger…

 

A mummified skeleton from the Atacama Desert in Chile has been described as “alien.” But genetic analysis shows that she was human and may have had a previously unknown bone disorder. CreditBhattacharya S et al. 2018

 

From The New York Times,

 

Was a Tiny Mummy in the Atacama an Alien? No, but the Real Story Is Almost as Strange

By Carl Zimmer

 

“Nearly two decades ago, the rumors began: In the Atacama Desert of northern Chile, someone had discovered a tiny mummified alien.

 

An amateur collector exploring a ghost town was said to have come across a white cloth in a leather pouch. Unwrapping it, he found a six-inch-long skeleton.

 

Despite its size, the skeleton was remarkably complete. It even had hardened teeth. And yet there were striking anomalies: it had 10 ribs instead of the usual 12, giant eye sockets and a long skull that ended in a point.

 

Ata, as the remains came to be known, ended up in a private collection, but the rumors continued, fueled in part by a U.F.O. documentary in 2013 that featured the skeleton. On Thursday, a team of scientists presented a very different explanation for Ata — one without aliens, but intriguing in its own way…”

 

For the rest, click here.

 

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