A tiny skeleton found inside an abandoned church by treasure hunters in 2003 continued to baffle scientists for almost two decades. It appears that the mystery of its alien-like skeleton has been finally solved.

Inviting curiosity due to its cone-shaped head and missing ribs, scientists were initially unable to process the remains. Turns out, the remains with cone-shaped 6-inch skull and only 10 ribs belonged to a baby that died about 40 years ago.

The allure of unverified information

Found by treasure hunter Oscar Muño in an abandoned church in the mining town of La Noria in Chile’s Atacama Desert. When found, the skeleton was so tiny that was tucked away in a small leather pouch – wrapped in white cloth and tied over with a ribbon.

When it was reported that 8 per cent of the DNA was not human, scientists were really in a fix.

Emery Smith

In 2018, scientists from Stanford Univeristy, San Francisco and the University of California said that the skeleton remains belonged to a baby that died about 40 years ago.

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Turns out, the baby had genetic disorders that gave it the alien-like appearance. In addition, its physical features pointed to dwarfism. Scientists believe that the baby was either born prematurely or died right after birth.

Calling it a “sensationalised story”, a professor from Stanford, Garry Nolan said that their follow-up research was done “out of a desire to bring some humanity to this discussion and dignity to the skeleton.”

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Regardless, it’s clear now that the remains are not extraterrestrial and very human. 

Did you know about this skeleton found in Chile? Let us know in the comments below. For more in the world of tech and science, keep reading Indiatimes.com.

Citation

Digital, T. N. (2021, December 28). Mystery of 6-inch ‘alien’ skeleton with conical head that baffled scientists has been solved. Times Now.