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These Are the World’s Oldest Mummies

Season 52 | 2m 49s

Across southeastern Asia, researchers have identified dozens of mummies that are between 4,000 and 11,00 years old. After scanning the bones with invisible wavelengths of light, they found that almost all the bodies have been exposed to heat, preserved for millennia by smoke from a fire.

National Corporate funding for NOVA is provided by Carlisle Companies and Viking Cruises. Major funding for NOVA is provided by the NOVA Science Trust and PBS viewers.
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From fruit flies to snake venom, evolutionary biologist Sean Carroll explains what drives evolution.
Can we really bring extinct species back? Evolutionary biologist Beth Shapiro says yes.