Peru's 'alien mummies' mystery deepens: Scientists say they’re human…but not entirely - All you need to know

Back in 2015, a grave digger in Peru stumbled onto something straight out of science fiction — a stash of strange mummified bodies hidden in a cave. What made them instantly infamous? Each had just three fingers and three toes. Since then, the so-called alien mummies of Nazca have been at the centre of wild debates. Were they extraterrestrials? A lost human species? Or just an elaborate scam cooked up to fool the world? Now, nearly a decade later, the mystery refuses to die. About two dozen of the remains are under serious scientific examination.

Aliens, humans, or something in between?

According to researchers, the mummies still have preserved tissue, muscles, and even organs. One appears to have been pregnant when she died. Podcast host Jesse Michels, who runs American Alchemy, recently visited the site. His verdict: "I found no evidence that they are not from Earth". Instead, he floated a new theory — they could be a long-lost subterranean species.

A genetic twist

So what explains the eerie three-fingered look? A bioinformatics expert dug into the publicly available DNA and found a mutation in a gene called Gli3 — the same gene linked to polydactyly, a condition that causes humans to have extra or oddly shaped digits.

Alaina Hardie, who studied the genetic data, admitted she set out to debunk the mutation theory, but instead found evidence pointing toward it. "I found a list of 50 genes involved in the pathway," said Hardie, as quoted by the Express. "There is a mutation in one of those genes, called Gli3, that is associated with polydactyly," she added. Ancient Peruvian remains have shown signs of the same condition before, adds the report.

One of the tested specimens, a headless humanoid nicknamed "Victoria," turned out to have DNA of human origins, even if she looked anything but. Michels also pointed to examples like a tribe in Zimbabwe with "ectrodactyly", or "Ostrich Foot Syndrome," where central digits are missing. "There are these mutations rendered adaptive in certain environments and persist over time," he explained. “So it could be just that, which would be remarkable all on its own.”

Human… or hybrid?

But not everyone is convinced. José Zace of the Mexican Navy’s medical division, who is part of the team examining the so-called alien mummies, said tests showed 70 per cent of the DNA matches humans — the other 30 per cent, he claims, is "completely different."

Dr David Ruiz Vela meanwhile, suggested they might even be hybrids, with traits pointing to natural interbreeding between early human and primate groups in Asia and Africa thousands of years ago.

That's why Michels wants biotech giant Colossal Biosciences — famous for resurrecting the dire wolf — to run their advanced DNA tests on the mummies. "If the (Peru) government won't allow a top American biotech company to use their proprietary ancient DNA testing techniques on these mummies, then I don't know what else you need to understand their position on the subject," he told the Daily Mail.

So what are they? Humans with rare mutations? Primitive hybrids? Or the remains of something alien? Whatever the answer, Peru's "alien" mystery is far from buried.