“Unraveling the Secrets of ‘Spirit Cave Man’: What Ancient DNA Reveals About Earth’s Oldest Mummy!”
The Spirit Cave Mummy’s story begins in 1940 when it was first discovered in a small rocky alcove in the Great Basin Desert in Nevada. However, it wasn’t until 50 years later that new testing would reveal its actual age and earn it the title of the world’s oldest natural mummy (one embalmed only by natural forces).
The Fallon Paiute-Shoshone tribe claimed cultural affiliation with the mummy and requested the repatriation of its remains under the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act. However the U.S. Bureau of Land Management rejected their request.
The tribe sued the government and sparked the two-decade-long debate over what to do with the mummy. The tribe wanted a proper burial for an individual they believed to be one of their ancestors and anthropologists believed that the remains provided invaluable historical insights and should be placed on display in a museum.
The two sides remained in a stalemate until 2015 when the tribe agreed to let Professor Eske Willerslev, the study’s lead author, conduct genomic testing on the mummy.
“I assured the tribe that my group would not do the DNA testing unless they gave permission and it was agreed that if Spirit Cave was genetically a Native American the mummy would be repatriated to the tribe,” Willerslev said in the statement.
Linus Mørk, Magus FilmProfessor Eske Willerslev with Donna and Joey, two members of the Fallon Paiute-Shoshone tribe.
Using DNA extracted from the mummy’s skull, Willerslev was able to determine that the Spirit Cave Mummy was indeed a member of the Fallon Paiute-Shoshone Tribe and an ancestor of present-day Native Americans. The remains were returned to the tribe in 2016 and in 2018, a proper burial was held for the mummy.
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