Mummified Body Parts Sale Poses 'Real Mummy's Curse'
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- Kirsty Squires, a professor of human bioarchaeology at the University of Staffordshire, co-authored a peer-reviewed paper in the International Journal of Cultural Property warning that centuries-old mummified remains are being sold online with no safety guidance to buyers.
- An analysis of 128 online posts on Meta platforms, e-commerce sites, web stores and auction houses found that 51.6% of listed remains were heads — including whole mummified heads, skulls with soft tissue, and shrunken heads (tsantsas) from the Shuar people of Peru and Ecuador — with isolated hands and feet also commonly traded.
- The paper notes that mummification processes use toxic materials including arsenic, mercury, and lead, while dormant microorganisms — notably aspergillus fungal spores — can become airborne when remains are moved or disturbed.
- The authors cite historical precedent for the danger: 10 of 12 conservation scientists died after opening the tomb of King Casimir IV of Kraków in the 1970s, and Lord Carnarvon's 1923 death after entering Tutankhamun's tomb may also have resulted from inhaled aspergillus spores.
- Squires said images posted by traders showed heavily deteriorated remains on stands without protective cases or temperature control, with some sellers noting a 'mummy smell' attributed to biodeterioration.
- Postal workers, drivers, warehouse staff and customs officials are also at risk because they handle consignments without the personal protective equipment required for centuries-old human remains.
Why it matters: The study reveals that a market operating openly on major platforms is putting dozens of people per shipment — private buyers plus an entire postal logistics chain — in contact with toxic heavy metals and ancient pathogens, with no regulatory safety layer. The historical linkage to King Casimir IV's tomb and Lord Carnarvon suggests the 'curse' was never supernatural but a documented biohazard, reframing a century-old myth as a public-health warning.
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