There is nothing supernatural. Scientists have revealed the secret of a terrible ancient Japanese mummy “mermaid” (photo)

Japanese scientists have completed the study of the “mermaid” mummy believed to be almost 300 years old. The Japanese had worshiped this mummy for centuries in the hope that it could cure them. But the eerie-looking ancient artifact was not that old, and the latter turned out to be an artificially created object, writes Asahi Shimbun.

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For a long time, in one of the Japanese temples in Okayama Prefecture, a “mermaid” mummy, 30 cm in length, was kept. Initially, as I wrote earlier FocusScientists who discovered the mummy last year thought it consisted of the remains of a monkey and a fish tail sewn into it.

However, the results of a study of the mummy, which was worshiped by the locals in the hope of having healing properties, showed that this eerie artifact was actually an artificially created object. Scientists have found that the mummy is mainly composed of paper, fabric, cotton wool and other components.

It is worth noting that the mummy is kept in the temple in a special condition, which also includes a note. This “mermaid” was said to have been caught at sea by a local fisherman between 1736 and 1741. How exactly this mummy got into the temple is still unknown.

When scientists discovered this “mermaid” mummy last year, its upper part, especially the head, looked like the remains of a monkey, and the lower part, namely its tail, was covered with scales and resembled the remains of fish. On the head of the mummy stood out large empty eye sockets, ears and nose were visible, and the head itself was covered with hair. The mummy also had two hands with five fingers each.

Since March last year, Japanese scientists have been conducting extensive study of this “mermaid” mummy to understand what it really is. With the help of modern equipment, scientists conducted a comprehensive analysis of the mummy, and it turned out that it contained some biological parts.

For example, bones from the tail and fin of one of the local fish were found on the underside of the mummy, and the artifact’s jaw belongs to another predatory fish. No other bones were found in the mummy. According to scientists, the mummy’s head was made of cotton, plaster and other materials and was not related to a living being. The body of the eerie artifact is made of paper, cloth and covered with puffer fish skin and hair of an unknown animal. The same wool was found on the mummy’s head.

The scientists also found that this “mermaid” was actually about 140 years old, not nearly 300 years old as was supposed. Analysis showed that this mummy was created by an unknown author in the late 80s of the 19th century. The researchers tried to do a DNA analysis, but no DNA was found in this “mermaid”.

At the same time, the rector of the temple where the mummy was kept said that despite the results of the study, this artifact will remain a valuable asset of the temple.

Focus he had already written about a mummy, but not a mermaid, but an ordinary Chinese woman of noble origin, to whom some people came with the belief that it could grant them longevity. The fact is that the mummy is in good shape after over 2000 years.