Study Warns Mummified Remains Trade Carries 'Real Mummy's Curse'
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- Researchers published a peer-reviewed paper in the International Journal of Cultural Property examining 128 online posts on Meta platforms, e-commerce sites, and auction houses, finding mummified remains frequently sold with no safety guidance.
- Isolated body parts — hands and feet — were the most commonly traded items, with 51.6% of the sample consisting of heads, including tsantsas (shrunken heads) from the Shuar people of Peru/Ecuador.
- Mummified remains often contained toxic preservation materials such as arsenic, mercury, and lead, and many showed signs of biodeterioration, according to the study.
- Dormant fungal spores including aspergillus can become airborne when remains are moved or disturbed, the authors warned — the same pathogen blamed for the 1970s deaths of 10 of 12 scientists who opened the tomb of King Casimir IV in Poland.
- The 'mummy's curse' myth may have roots in aspergillosis, with the paper noting Lord Carnarvon's 1923 death after entering Tutankhamun's tomb may have been caused by inhaling fungal spores.
- Postal and courier workers, warehouse staff, drivers, and customs officials are also at risk because sellers ship remains through regular mail services without protective equipment, the study found.
- Kirsty Squires of the University of Staffordshire, who led the research with Dario Piombino-Mascali, Clara Urzì, and Damien Huffer, said some images showed heavily deteriorated remains stored uncovered in domestic living rooms.
Why it matters: The study documents a semi-clandestine trade — amplified by social media and e-commerce — in which toxic-laden centuries-old remains move through postal systems without safety protocols, putting traders, buyers, and the entire delivery chain at risk of exposure to heavy metals and pathogens like aspergillus, the same fungus linked to historical tomb-related deaths.
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