What is the oldest naturally preserved mummy?

The Spirit Cave Mummy is the oldest known mummy in the world and is over 9,400 years old. It was first discovered in 1940 by Sydney and Georgia Wheeler, a husband and wife archaeological team. The Spirit Cave Mummy was naturally preserved by the heat and aridity of the cave it was found in.



People Also Ask

In January 2023, a group of archaeologists excavating tombs in the ancient necropolis of Saqqara, near Cairo, discovered the mummified remains of a man named Hekashepes, who lived circa 2300BC.

MORE DETAILS

Archaeologists discovered the mummy—also nicknamed “Juanita” and “Lady of Ampato”—in 1995 on the towering Ampato volcano northwest of Arequipa. Though the girl's colorful alpaca wool robes, dark hair, teeth and fingernails were well-preserved, her face had been exposed to the elements and had largely disappeared.

MORE DETAILS