Researchers Suspect Climate and Hillside Location of San Bernardo Cemetery Led to Desiccated Bodies and Natural Mummification
Over 100 exhumed bodies from San Bernardo town cemetery since the 1960s have revealed a peculiar phenomenon of natural mummification. In many cases, the corpses still have intact hair and fingernails, and even soft tissue and eyeballs, which are typically among the first body parts to decompose after burial, Mail reported on April 29.
Local Theories and Scientific Explanations
Locals have long attributed the mummification to the deceased's active farming lifestyles or as a reward for virtuous living. However, a new study suggests a more scientific explanation: a combination of humidity and the steep hillside location of the cemetery.
The mummies were first discovered during exhumations at San Bernardo cemetery in 1963. By the late 1980s, around 50 mummies were being found annually. Researchers have noted similar natural mummification in Guanajuato, Mexico, where underground gases and soil chemistry preserve bodies. However, the Guanajuato mummies date back to the early 19th century, while the San Bernardo mummies are relatively recent.
Traditionally, mummification is the process of preserving a body after death through drying or using chemicals to prevent decomposition. In the case of the San Bernardo bodies, however, the mummification occurred accidentally. After burial, teeth and nails typically fall out within 3-5 days, while soft tissue takes decades to decompose, leaving only bones and traces of hair and clothing.
However, when town resident Clovisnerys Bejarano exhumed her mother's body in 2001 after three decades of burial, she found her mother looking as if she were sleeping, complete with intact clothing and soft tissue. Bejarano's mother's mummy is now on display in a museum at the José Arquimedes Castro mausoleum, along with 13 other exhumed San Bernardo bodies.
Ongoing Research
Researchers studying the mummy phenomenon have not found any common pattern in how or why the bodies mummified. They note that the bodies come from various parts of the cemetery and represent a range of ages and genders.
Initially, scientists suspected the mummification process was due to the deceased's healthy diets and active lifestyles, but a case from Bogotá, 40 miles from San Bernardo, contradicted that hypothesis. The research team has since shifted to an alternative theory: that the temperature in the graves, combined with the cemetery's high elevation, might act like a convection oven.
Daniela Betancourt, an anthropologist at the National University of Colombia, believes the hillside location could be a factor. "There are constant breezes when it's hot. You can think of the grave as a convection oven that dries the body out," Betancourt explains. She emphasizes that more research is needed to determine exactly what occurs and what specific conditions allow for the mummification of bodies.