Main content

The oldest mummies in the world aren't from ancient Egypt

When you think of ancient mummies, you might think of Egypt, with its famously preserved pharaohs and other leading lights of that ancient civilisation. In fact, the oldest mummies in the world were discovered in Chile. They were discovered in 1917 by a German archaeologist, but it took decades for the mummies to be correctly dated, and identified as part of the Chinchorro civilisation. And they’re still not on the tourist map, the way that the pyramids and their long dead occupants are. Jane Chambers travelled into the heart of what was once Chinchorro country, to see the mummies for herself.

First broadcast on From Our Own Correspondent, 21 October 2021.

Release date:

Duration:

5 minutes

This clip is from