The mystery surrounding ‘alien mummies’ in Peru appears to have deepened after scientists presented what they branded as “irrefutable evidence” that they once were living creatures. Dozens of mysterious mummified bodies discovered in the Nazca desert sparked years of confusion, with claims they were “not related to any specimen that we have studied”.
The mystery began in 2017 when journalist and urologist, Jaime Maussan, and a team of self-proclaimed paranormal researchers said they found strange three-fingered “mummified humanoids”. The small bodies were found with elongated skulls, three fingers and toes and internal organs including a heart, liver and intestines. Scientists have now claimed the mummies are “100 percent real” after performing new analysis.
Dr José Zalce, lead expert on the investigation, said he has analysed 21 of the unusual bodies, noting features such as fingerprints, bone wear, dental structures, muscular anatomy and internal organs.
He told the Daily Mail that the most striking discovery was the second and third molars observed in the oral cavity of one mummy, Antonio, which he said were “practically identical to those of humans”.
The team analysis, which has not yet been reviewed by independent experts, found Antonio had “no significant differences from a human,” such as the bone structure, bony eye sockets and mouth.
The team found that the tissues and bones did not feature any artificial materials or modifications, which they claim proves Antonio is an authentic corpse. They described him as 5.5 to 5.7 feet tall and about 1,500 years old.
The former director of the Mexican Navy Medical Department said: “These are yet more pieces of clear and irrefutable evidence that these bodies are 100 percent genuine, real, and organic, having once been alive.”
Maussan argued his case on two occasions with Mexico’s Congress about five years after the initial discovery. During the second meeting, he brought a string of doctors who all said the bodies were those of real, once-living organisms, and some claimed to have studied five similar specimens over four years.
Forensic archaeologist Flavio Estrada said in 2024 the claims that the specimens coming from another world are “totally false”, but believed they were dolls.
He said: “The conclusion is simple: they are dolls assembled with bones of animals from this planet, with modern synthetic glues, therefore they were not assembled during pre-Hispanic times. They are not extraterrestrials; they are not aliens.”
Colorado prosecutor and current defence attorney Joshua McDowell, who has examined one of the mummies, also had contrasting views to the latest analysis.
He told the Daily Mail: “The bodies studied by Estrada were not related to any specimen that we have studied. They were folk dolls made to look like [mummies] confiscated at the airport.”
