The oldest mummy in Africa is not an Egyptian mummy but the mummy of a 3-year-old child in Libya, dating back approximately 5,400 to 5,600 years.
Egypt is famous for its ancient mummies, which are incredibly well-preserved. However, this might not be the place that holds the oldest mummies in Africa. Deep in the desert mountains of southwestern Libya, researchers have discovered the mummy of a child named Tashwinat, which predates Egyptian mummies by more than 1,000 years.
In the winter of 1958, archaeologist Fabrizio Mori explored a natural cave shelter at Uan Muhuggiag, a site once inhabited by cattle herders. Mori found remnants of this ancient shelter in the form of rock art depicting humans, animals, cattle, and numerous drawings from different periods. However, when he began excavating beneath the soft sand floor of the cave, he discovered a strange bundle buried near the surface.
The bundle, made from goat or antelope skin, contained the dried body of a child wrapped in a layer of leaves. The child had undergone a mummification ritual, with its internal organs removed after death through incisions in the abdomen and chest. This process, known as evisceration, involved replacing the organs with herbs, possibly to help preserve the body.
The child was positioned in a fetal posture, wearing an ostrich eggshell necklace around its neck. Analysis showed that the child had dark skin and died at around 3 years old. Carbon isotope dating indicated that the mummy was approximately 5,400 to 5,600 years old.
At the time the child lived, the Sahara Desert was vastly different from today. The people who once visited Uan Muhuggiag lived in a much greener landscape. During this period, sometimes referred to as the “African Humid Period,” the Sahara was covered with grass, trees, and lakes. These features supported the livelihoods of cattle herders in the area. Further evidence of a wetter environment around Uan Muhuggiag includes rock art depicting elephants, giraffes, and crocodiles, as well as ancient fish bones and fishing tools found at other sites in the Sahara.
Currently, scientists are unsure whether the mummification practices at Uan Muhuggiag influenced those in Egypt. However, the Tashwinat mummy suggests that mummification in Africa has a much deeper and more complex history than previously thought by experts.
