The Health Risks of the Illicit Trade in Mummified Human Remains

The growing global trade in mummified human remains poses severe biological and chemical health hazards to buyers, online collectors, and postal service workers alike, according to a peer-reviewed academic study published in the International Journal of Cultural Property. Researchers analyzing online marketplaces and auction sites warn that the semi-clandestine trade exposes participants to latent microorganisms and toxic preserving materials, describing the underground market as the true mummy’s curse.

The academic article, titled The True Mummy’s Curse: Health Risks Associated with the Sale and Trade of Mummified Remains, reveals a bleak landscape of illicit and semi-clandestine sales operating across social media, e-commerce websites, and auction houses. According to the research, buyers and sellers exhibit little awareness of the physical dangers tied to centuries-old human body parts such as hands, feet, and heads.

Analysis of Online Listings and Biodeterioration

An examination of 128 online listings across Meta platforms, e-commerce sites, web shops, and auction houses identified numerous instances of mummified remains offered for sale with clear signs of biodeterioration. Researchers found that sellers provided zero safety warnings and frequently relied on standard postal services to ship the biological specimens directly to buyers.

Isolated body parts like hands and feet appeared most frequently in the sampled listings, followed by complete mummified heads. More than half of the sample, specifically 51.6%, consisted of heads in various states of integrity and preservation, including partial or complete mummified heads, skulls retaining soft tissue or hair, and tsantsas—the traditional shrunken heads crafted by the Shuar people of northern Peru and eastern Ecuador, as noted in the study.

Chemical Preservatives and Latent Pathogens

Mummification practices, whether natural or artificial, rely on complex physical and chemical processes designed to delay decomposition. Historical preservation methods frequently utilized toxic substances and heavy metals such as arsenic, mercury, and lead to treat human tissues.

Despite centuries of desiccation, mummified remains can still harbor a wide variety of latent microorganisms. Fungal spores remain dormant within the tissues and can easily disperse through the air when the remains are moved or disturbed, creating acute health risks for anyone living near or handling the specimens.

The study highlights historical precedents where inhaled pathogens proved fatal, noting that the inhalation of Aspergillus spores caused the deaths of 10 out of 12 conservation scientists who opened the tomb of King Casimir IV in Kraków, Poland, during the 1970s. Researchers also connect severe aspergilosis from fungal spore inhalation to the 1923 death of Lord Carnarvon, the primary financial backer of Howard Carter’s exploration of Tutankhamun’s tomb in Egypt’s Valley of the Kings, an event that helped cement the popular myth of the mummy’s curse.

Risks to Home Collectors and Postal Workers

Kirsty Squires, a professor of human bioarchaeology at the University of Staffordshire who co-authored the research alongside Dario Piombino-Mascali, Clara Urzì, and Damien Huffer, stated that traders show minimal recognition of the hazards involved.

In some of the comments sí que mencionan un olor a momia, como a descomposición, pero algunas de las imágenes que publican suelen ser de cabezas momificadas que no se encuentran en vitrinas, sino a la vista, por ejemplo, en un salón o en una vivienda. Así que eso podría ser realmente peligroso.

Kirsty Squires, University of Staffordshire

Squires noted that during the preparation of the study, several images showed highly deteriorated remains displayed on stands without glass covers, lacking temperature control or the specialized preservation conditions required for human remains. Beyond collectors, the study warns that courier and delivery companies transporting these packages expose warehouse workers, drivers, transport center staff, and customs officials to unmonitored biological hazards without standard personal protective equipment.