Climate change is written all overmummies' faces

A Chinchorro mummy at San Miguel de Azapa Museum in Arica, Chile. Arica is often referred to as the

driest place on Earth, but locals say that the climate is changing, which could be affecting the mummies

there. Photo: Courtesy of Vivien Standen

About 7,000 years ago or more, a group of people called the Chinchorro lived

along the coasts of northern Chile and southern Peru. Their lives revolved

around fishing from the rich Pacific waters. Yet, lying just behind them farther

inland was a uniquely dry, arid desert — the Atacama.

The Chinchorro were unique in many ways, but perhaps most of all in their burial

practices. They created the oldest known mummies on Earth, beating the

Egyptians by several thousand years. The Chinchorro's mummies were first

discovered in the Atacama desert in 1917.

Compared with the Egyptians, the Chinchorro mummified their dead in a truly

equal fashion. "Whereas the Egyptians considered only kings and other exalted

citizens worthy of mummification, the Chinchorro accorded everyone in the

community, regardless of age or status, this sacred rite," wrote Bernardo Arriaza,

an expert on the mummies.

By Washington Post, adapted by Newsela staff on 03.18.15

Word Count 966

Mummies Are Aging

Since then, hundreds of mummies have been unearthed, with more still in the

ground being uncovered regularly. But lately, a problem has arisen. The

specimens — more than 100 are held at a museum of the Universidad de

Tarapacá in Arica, Chile — have started to degrade. "The tissue change is

reflected in the appearance of dark and bright spots," Marcela Sepulveda, an

archaeologist at the Universidad de Tarapacá, explained in an email.

Indoors, the change has been slow, but outdoors, mummies are being

discovered already damaged, Sepulveda said. "When you excavate mummies

you can see that degradation is already there," she said. And the suspected

reason? A changing climate.

The Earth is slowly getting warmer and storm and weather patterns are

changing. Scientists blame some of these changes on humans burning fossil

fuels like oil, gas and coal.

Deterioration In The Last Decade

Arica is often referred to as the driest place on Earth — but locals say that is

changing. According to Sepulveda, the city has seen increases in rain and

humidity lately. "Everybody say(s) that here," she said. Indeed, weather historian

Christopher Burt wrote about Arica in 2013, noting that despite its famous

reputation for dryness, weather records from 1971 to 2000 suggest it has been

somewhat wetter than usual.

This may not be a change that can be definitively blamed on global climate

change caused by humans, cautioned Ralph Mitchell, a Harvard University

microbiologist. But it is a change nonetheless. "Our colleagues in northern Chile

say it's terribly obvious that the place is foggy a lot more than it ever was,"

Mitchell said. He teamed up with the Chilean researchers to figure out what was

ailing the mummies.

Mitchell noted that many of the mummies found in the 1980s had no problems

until 10 years ago, "when they started to deteriorate." That alone suggests

climate may be a factor in what's happening.

Other Relics Are Also Vulnerable

So Mitchell and two Harvard colleagues collaborated with Sepulveda and one of

her colleagues to try to figure out what was going on. They aimed to find out if

climate change was in fact the reason for mummy decay. If so, they wanted to

determine what it would mean for better preserving these unique, ancient

objects. Their theory was that more airborne moisture had enabled bacteria to

start to chow down on the centuries-old relics.

They studied samples of mummy skin and dried pig skin in various conditions.

They examined which microbes were living on and in the skin. The result,

Mitchell said, was the finding that bacteria were taking advantage of a more

humid environment to "use the skin as a nutrient and start to break it down."

These were common skin bacteria, among others, which had been enabled by

a particular set of environmental conditions.

The decaying of the Chinchorro mummies illustrates just how vulnerable many

irreplaceable cultural artifacts and World Heritage sites may be to a changing

climate — human-caused or not. It's something that the United Nations (U.N.)

has thought about for some time. Its department UNESCO names certain places

as World Heritage sites because of their importance to nature or culture. A 2007

report from the U.N. agency said that "the impacts of climate change are

affecting many World Heritage properties and are likely to affect many more,

both natural and cultural, in the years ahead."

Whether Frozen Or Desert, Change Is Coming

The U.S. Agency for International Development is also concerned about how

climate change might affect World Heritage sites, and it highlights an example

that on a physical level sounds similar to what appears to be happening in

Arica. "Buildings in the rare medieval city of Leh in Ladakh, India, were

constructed in a high altitude desert environment and are ill suited to current

increases in precipitation," it noted.

Several years ago, Archaeology magazine listed yet another related example. It

said that the frozen burial mounds of Scythian warlords (called "kurgans"),

preserved in permafrost near Siberia, can be destabilized by Arctic thawing. In

this case, it was ice, rather than desert, that had preserved remains intact for a

magnificently long time. A change in climate can once again mean an

irreplaceable loss of artifacts and ruins as the ice preserving them melts.

Harvard's Mitchell, meanwhile, said he suspects another possible climate

heritage victim: outdoor marble statues. "Historic marbles in the outdoor

environment are at risk from climate change," he said.

Now, The Consequences

So while we may not know exactly what is happening in Arica, Chile — or

whether it should be attributed to human-caused global warming — the fact is

that damage to historical artifacts and World Heritage sites is an expected

consequence of climate change in general. And how could it be otherwise?

Many of these sites have been remarkably preserved precisely because of the

fact that they have been climatically unperturbed.

Alter that, and, along with many other consequences, the world could lose some

of its history.

Quiz

1 Which BEST explains the relationship between World Heritage sites and the central

idea of the article?

(A) World Heritage sites are named by a United Nations department.

(B) Climate change is affecting many World Heritage sites.

(C) World Heritage sites can be found in places like India and Siberia.

(D) There are many mummies to be found in various World Heritage

sites.

2 Which paragraph from the article BEST summarizes the article?

3 Read the sentence from the section "Deterioration in the Last Decade."

Mitchell noted that many of the mummies found in the 1980s

had no problems until 10 years ago, "when they started to

deteriorate."

What does the word "deteriorate" mean in the sentence?

(A) vanish over time

(B) worsen over time

(C) become drier

(D) change in number

4 Read the sentence from the section "Other Relics Are Also Vulnerable."

Their theory was that more airborne moisture had enabled

bacteria to start to chow down on the centuries-old relics.

Which is the MOST likely reason the author chose to use the phrase "chow down" in

the sentence?

(A) to convey how quickly the bacteria damage the mummies

(B) to show that bacteria are able to eat just like other creatures

(C) to suggest that bacteria can be helpful in the preservation of

mummies

(D) to illustrate how bacteria get nutrients from the mummies

Answer Key

1 Which BEST explains the relationship between World Heritage sites and the central

idea of the article?

(A) World Heritage sites are named by a United Nations department.

(B) Climate change is affecting many World Heritage sites.

(C) World Heritage sites can be found in places like India and Siberia.

(D) There are many mummies to be found in various World Heritage

sites.

2 Which paragraph from the article BEST summarizes the article?

Paragraph 15:

So while we may not know exactly what is happening in Arica, Chile —

or whether it should be attributed to human-caused global warming —

the fact is that damage to historical artifacts and World Heritage sites

is an expected consequence of climate change in general. And how

could it be otherwise? Many of these sites have been remarkably

preserved precisely because of the fact that they have been

climatically unperturbed.

3 Read the sentence from the section "Deterioration in the Last Decade."

Mitchell noted that many of the mummies found in the 1980s

had no problems until 10 years ago, "when they started to

deteriorate."

What does the word "deteriorate" mean in the sentence?

(A) vanish over time

(B) worsen over time

(C) become drier

(D) change in number

4 Read the sentence from the section "Other Relics Are Also Vulnerable."

Their theory was that more airborne moisture had enabled

bacteria to start to chow down on the centuries-old relics.

Which is the MOST likely reason the author chose to use the phrase "chow down" in

the sentence?

(A) to convey how quickly the bacteria damage the mummies

(B) to show that bacteria are able to eat just like other creatures

(C) to suggest that bacteria can be helpful in the preservation of

mummies

(D) to illustrate how bacteria get nutrients from the mummies