Researchers in Japan are investigating the origins of a 300-year-old mummified creature that has been worshipped for its supposed healing powers.
The remains are most likely a gruesome amalgam of a monkey's torso sewed onto a fish's tail, embellished with hair and nails from a human.
A board member of the Okayama Folklore Society discovered a mummy inside a box at a temple in Okayama Prefecture. He became aware of the mummy after he found a picture of it in an encyclopedia.
According to a note left inside the box, a fisherman caught a specimen sometime between 1736 and 1741 and sold it to an affluent family. According to a Japanese news site, researchers don't know how the mermaid ended up inside the temple.
Takafumi Kato, a paleontologist at the Kurashiki University of Science and the Arts, and his colleagues have begun looking into the mummy's origins after the temple agreed to let them investigate the unusual remains.
The remains are going to be scanned. The paper is published by The Asahi Shimbun.
The scientists imaged the mummy using aCT scans, as seen in this video. The researchers will take samples of the DNA of the different species to see which ones have been combined. The results will be released later in the year, they said.
Is it real or not? The science behind 12 strange occurrences.
There are two mythical creatures in Japanese folklore that are similar to the mermaid mummy.
The stories of health cures and increased longevity have been associated with both of these types of creatures. According to Metro, a woman is said to have lived for 800 years after accidentally eating an entire Ningyo.
The person. The paper is published by The Asahi Shimbun.
The priests of the temple believe that the mummy is a sign of good health.
The head priest at the temple said that they had worshipped it, hoping that it would help alleviate the coronaviruses.
The mummy was put on display in a glass case at the temple for visitors to pray to, but it has spent the last 40 years in a fireproof safe inside the temple to keep it safe. There are two other temples in Japan that worship the same type of mummies.
Live Science reported that the fake mermaids were created to sell to Western tourists.
In the 18th century, a similar hoax was sold to Dutch travelers in Japan and later sold to English merchants in the US, where it became part of the famous collection of P.T. Barnum.
The tail of a salmon and an orangutan are believed to have been used to make this 3-foot-long (91 cm) mermaid.
The priests at the temple in Okayama Prefecture hope that the new study will add to the legacy of the mummified mermaid and help it live on.
The research project can leave scientific records for future generations, according to Kuida.
There are related content.
There is a rumor or reality about the creatures of cryptozoology.
There are 10 scariest sea creatures.
Our favorite monsters.
The article was published by Live Science. The original article can be found here.
All Rights Reserved © 2024
