Recent discoveries surrounding the “Detmold Child” mummy in Peru, dating back to between 4504 and 4457 BC, have sparked widespread debate about the history of mummification. However, Libyan archaeological findings reveal astonishing facts confirming that mummification in Libya predates Egyptian civilization by thousands of years.
In the Red Castle Museum in Tripoli, the remains of the “Black Mummy” are displayed. discovered by an Italian expedition led by Fabrizio Mori in 1958 in the Uan Muhuggiag cave in the Wadi Teshuinat of the Akakus Mountains. This mummy, carefully wrapped in antelope skin and positioned in a fetal position, dates back to between 5400 and 5600 BC, predating the recorded mummification period in Egypt by approximately 1500 years.
This discovery has prompted scientists to reconsider the prevailing belief that mummification originated in Egypt, proposing a new hypothesis that it may have originated from unknown civilizations that emerged in what is now Libya as far back as 20,000 years ago.
This was not the only discovery in Libya. In 2008, another mummy, 1.8 meters in length, was discovered in the Zinkekra Mountain south of Germa, dating back to 7000 BC, exhibiting the kneeling position practiced by Libyans in burying their dead.
Additionally, the Jaghbub child mummy was discovered in a cemetery containing over 200 graves dating back to 1800 AD and is currently displayed in the Red Castle Museum.
While Guinness World Records indicates that the oldest examples of mummification belong to the Chinchorro people of Peru (7200 BC), new evidence suggests that the oldest mummy may be from Portugal, but research is still ongoing.
Nevertheless, the discovery of the Uan Muhuggiag mummy remains conclusive evidence that the history of mummification in Libya precedes mummification in ancient Egypt.”