Raman Spectroscopy and STR Analysis of the Elongated Skulls from the Paracas Mummies of Peru

Abstract

Between 1880-1947, several hundred mummified bodies were excavated from burial sites in the Paracas peninsula of Peru. Each set of recovered remains displayed reduced stature and severe cranial elongation, which led many anthropologists and archaeologists to question the genetic origins of what would be colloquially referred to as the “Cone Head mummies.” Since the discovery of these bodies, suggestions have been made that the mummies’ cranial deformations point to another human species, an unknown hominid species, or even within some groups, an alien. This project sought to employ commonly used forensic techniques, including but not limited to Raman spectroscopy and DNA fingerprinting, to investigate the hair structure and genetic profile from tissue and hair samples derived from the Paracas skulls. Tissue and hair samples were subjected to comparative hair analysis, Raman spectroscopy, and DNA typing using short tandem repeat (STR) analysis. Comparative microscopic hair analysis and Raman spectroscopy of samples collected from the Paracas skull as well as from humans of varying ethnicities revealed very similar hair structures and characteristics that are associated with human hairs. Following DNA extraction and amplification of tissue samples, STR typing results demonstrated allelic profiles similar and consistent with those DNA profiles observed in modern human populations. Moreover, no foreign DNA or unusual patterns/profiles were observed in any of the samples tested. Data generated to this point strongly suggest that the Paracas mummies are of the same species as humans and not from an unknown hominid or alien society.