New findings reveal that scientists recently discovered that a centuries-old mummy, the Mermaid, is a scary animal doll that's even stranger than previously thought.
The mummy's head and torso probably belonged to a small monkey.
In 2022, researchers found the mermaid about 12 inches (30.5 centimeters) long inside a sealed wooden box inside a Japanese temple in Okayama Prefecture. At the time, researchers thought it was made by stitching the torso and head of a monkey onto a decapitated fish.
This haunting hybrid, which resembles the humanoid figure of Japanese mythology — a fish-like creature with a human head that is said to help cure disease and prolong life — was previously displayed in a temple's glass case for worship before being stored more than 40 years ago. A letter in the mummy box states that the specimen was captured by a fisherman sometime between 1736 and 1741, but it was most likely made decades after that as a scam to sell to wealthy people who wanted to improve their health or live longer.
Researchers at Japan's Kurashiki University of Science and Art (KUSA) took possession of the mermaid in early February 2022 (with permission from the temple priests) and began studying the bizarre artifact (computed tomography) scanning, radiocarbon dating, electron microscopy, and DNA analysis using a range of techniques including X-rays and CT scans.
CT scan of mermaid mummy
The results of the survey were published in . What they found about mermaids was even more bizarre than expected.
The results showed that the mermaid's torso did not belong to a monkey, but was mainly made of cloth, paper and cotton, held together by metal pins from the neck to the lower back. It is also coated with a paste made from a mixture of sand and charcoal.
However, the torso is covered with parts that have been peeled off from other animals. Mammalian hair and fish skin (most likely from pufferfish) cover parts of the arms, shoulders, neck, and cheeks. Mermaids' jaws and teeth may also be taken from predatory fish, whose claws are made of keratin, meaning they may come from real but unrecognizable animals.
Digital reconstruction of the mermaid
The mermaid's lower body does come from a fish, most likely a type of yellow croaker – a finned fish that croaks with its swim bladder, which helps it control buoyancy.
The researchers couldn't identify any intact DNA from the mermaid, but radiocarbon dating of the scales suggests they date back to the early 1800s.
The researchers write that the new analysis suggests that the mermaid was most likely designed to trick people into believing that the humanoid and its purported healing powers were real. However, it also shows that the crooks behind the creators also put more effort into piecing together this fake creature than expected.
Another 14 "mermaids" have been found in Japan, and the team now hopes to analyze others for comparison.