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Just noting that the mummy is very recent, perhaps 50 years old. (Not a 50 years old person, but born and mummified about 50 years ago.) "Ata was stillborn or
by sampo 9y ago
Just noting that the mummy is very recent, perhaps 50 years old. (Not a 50 years old person, but born and mummified about 50 years ago.)
"Ata was stillborn or died immediately after her birth, perhaps 40 years before her remains were discovered."
https://www.theguardian.com/science/2018/mar/22/genetic-tests-reveal-tragic-reality-of-atacama-alien-skeleton https://www.theguardian.com/science/2018/mar/22/genetic-test...
- sho_hn 9y agoThat contradicts this article.
- tedmiston 9y agoNot necessarily, on age at least. The article just states: > After death, DNA disintegrates into fragments, which become smaller over the centuries. Ata’s DNA fragments are still large, another clue that she’s less than 500 years old.
- gwern 9y agoCarbon-dating and other forensic methods should be able to nail that down much more precisely. If nothing else, at some point, national DNA databases will pinpoint the fetus's relatives.
- flashman 9y agoThe only thing I can find on the age is "younger than 500 years": > the average DNA fragment size for Ata is ∼300 bp which, based on a DNA-decay model (Allentoft et al. 2012), is consistent with a sample younger than 500 yr. https://genome.cshlp.org/content/early/2018/03/21/gr.223693.117.full.pdf+html https://genome.cshlp.org/content/early/2018/03/21/gr.223693....