The Hand-Sized Skeleton
Photo credit: The Telegraph
In a case somewhat reversed, a small humanoid body was found in 2003. Its weird looks made many dismiss the creature outright as fake. The skeleton was found buried in a bag behind a church in Chile’s Atacama Desert.
Several features made it appear impossible to be anything other than a hoax or, for the believers, a tiny alien. It was barely 15 centimeters (6 in) tall with a cone-shaped skull and a rather mean expression, 10 pairs of ribs (humans have 12 pairs), and the bone structure of a six-year-old child.
In 2018, a battery of genetic tests revealed something remarkable. The naturally mummified body was human. Moreover, it was a little girl. She had the typical DNA of the region, which was a mix of European and Native American.
Nicknamed “Ata,” the analysis showed that she had a host of genetic mutations that had deformed her bones and caused dwarfism. Ata probably died after birth and is officially the smallest baby ever born. Unique as she is, perhaps the most surprising thing is that Ata’s parents could still be alive. Her skeleton is an estimated 40 years old.
Sad to think that the skeleton was actually that of a human child, but even sadder that the parents had to suffer the loss of one so young. If the parents are indeed alive, they have been suffering for a long time now.
Coffee inside once again. Still expecting rain...
