Spirit Cave mummy

Spirit Cave Mummy
Spirit Cave Mummy remains still wrapped in material it was laid to rest in
Diedc. 7420 BC
now Nevada, United States
Body discovered1940 by Sydney and Georgia Wheeler

The Spirit Cave mummy is the oldest human mummy found in North America.[1][2][3] It was discovered in 1940 in Spirit Cave,[4] 13 miles (21 km) east[5] of Fallon, Nevada, United States, by the husband-and-wife archaeological team of Sydney and Georgia Wheeler. Analysis of the remains showed similarities to North and South American indigenous peoples and in 2016, the remains were repatriated to the Fallon Paiute-Shoshone Tribe of Nevada.[6] The Spirit Cave mummy was one of the first to be dated using accelerated mass spectrometer radiocarbon dating. In turn, its discovery and analysis gave much insight and motivation of further research into the chronology of the western great basin.[7]

  1. ^ Asher, Lara J. (September–October 1996). "Oldest North American Mummy". Archaeology. 49 (5). Archived from the original on December 17, 2005. Retrieved April 18, 2010.
  2. ^ "Questions about mummies and bog bodies". Ask Dr. Dig. Archived from the original on October 22, 2007. Retrieved April 18, 2010.
  3. ^ "10 Oldest Mummies in the World – Oldest.org". February 22, 2018. Archived from the original on October 27, 2020. Retrieved October 14, 2020.
  4. ^ Redmond, Caroline (November 9, 2018). "Mystery Of 10,600-Year-Old 'Spirit Cave Man,' Earth's Oldest Natural Mummy, Finally Solved". All That's Interesting. Archived from the original on October 18, 2020. Retrieved October 14, 2020.
  5. ^ Approx. 39°25′31″N 118°36′31″W / 39.425403°N 118.608570°W / 39.425403; -118.608570, Rhode, David; Adams, Kenneth; Elston, Robert (2000), "Figure 2-Map showing location of field trip stops", in Lageson, David (ed.), Great Basin and Sierra Nevada, Geological Society of America, ISBN 0-8137-0002-7
  6. ^ Cite error: The named reference :1 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  7. ^ Cite error: The named reference :2 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).