The tradition of wrapping bodies in cloth to preserve them as “mummies” in ancient Egyptian society is world-famous, but very few people know that in ancient times bodies were also preserved by drying them with smoke.


Thousands of years ago, in some ancient societies of China and Southeast Asia, people used to preserve bodies as “mummies” by drying them with smoke.


Similarly, ancient examples of mummified bodies have also been found in Chile, South America.


Along South America’s Atacama coastal strip, the dry air could naturally turn bodies into “mummies.”


But most of the remains recovered by researchers from China and Southeast Asia came from humid regions, which is why they were particularly interested in the human skeletons found at burial sites in China, Vietnam, the Philippines, Laos, Thailand, Malaysia, and Indonesia.


Some of these remains showed burn marks.


After close examination, researchers concluded that these marks were most likely the result of a method of drying bodies with smoke to preserve them as “mummies,” a practice still known in some parts of Indonesia.


Researchers also analyzed bone samples collected from Japan, which also showed evidence of smoke-drying.


They clarified that these bones were not an attempt at cremation, but rather a method of preservation.


According to the researchers, some of these samples are more than 10,000 years old—meaning that the tradition of preserving bodies as “mummies” in these societies is even older than the Egyptian practice.