Was a Tiny Mummy in the Atacama an Alien? No, but the Real Story Is Almost as Strange

NYT ^ | 22 March 2018 | Carl Zimmer

[blueplum]

Nearly two decades ago, the rumors began: In the Atacama Desert of northern Chile, someone had discovered a tiny mummified alien. An amateur collector exploring a ghost town was said to have come across a white cloth in a leather pouch. Unwrapping it, he found a six-inch-long skeleton.

Despite its size, the skeleton was remarkably complete. It even had hardened teeth. And yet there were striking anomalies: it had ten ribs instead of the usual 12, giant eye sockets and a long skull that ended in a point. {snip}

On Thursday, a team of scientists presented a very different explanation for Ata — one without aliens, but intriguing in its own way.

Ata’s bones contain DNA that not only shows she was human, but...

[SunkenCiv]

Thanks blueplum. What a surprise, not an alien?!? ;^)