On the icy shores of Antarctica, scientists have come across preserved remains of ancient penguins that remain remarkably fresh thanks to the frigid conditions. Some of these penguin mummies may date back as far as 5,000 years ago, centuries before the ancient Egyptians began embalming.

In 2016, several ancient penguin roosts were discovered near Cape Irizar, a rocky headland along the Ross Sea in eastern Antarctica. Researchers found bones and feathers of Adélie penguins, as well as numerous carcasses that “appeared fresh” through the melting snow.

The sighting was quite unexpected, as there have been no records of an active penguin colony in the area since it was first spotted by Robert Falcon Scott and his team of explorers in the early 20th century.

Radiocarbon dating of the remains later showed that these mummies, despite their youthful appearance, were extremely old, dating to three periods beginning 5,000 years ago, the last of which was 800 years ago. Thanks to the sub-zero temperature, the corpses were effectively turned into natural mummies and microorganisms were stopped from decomposing the corpses.

“In all my years of researching Antarctica, I have never seen a place like this,” paleoecologist Professor Stephen Emsley from the University of North Carolina Wilmington said in a statement.

“We excavated three of these mounds using archaeological-like techniques to recover preserved penguin bone tissue, feathers, and eggshells, as well as hard parts of guano prey (fish bones, otoliths). As I have found at other very ancient sites I have studied in the Ross Sea, the soil is very dry and “It was dusty and there were also lots of penguin remains.” added Emsley.

The period during which the area was last occupied by penguins is clearly associated with the period between the Medieval Warm Period (AD 800–1300) and the beginning of the Little Ice Age (AD 1300), when average summer temperatures were around –2 °C. (28.4 °C). °F) colder in the Ross Sea than today. Professor Emslie believes that colder conditions have covered the area with thick snow and ice, making it very difficult for an active penguin colony to develop.

The main reason why penguin mummies are no longer coming out of the ground is due to rising temperatures due to climate change. Since the 1980s, annual temperatures in this region near the Ross Sea have increased by 2 °C (35.6 °F), causing massive ice loss and revealing past relict times.

Emsley commented, “This recent snowmelt, which has revealed long-preserved remains that had been frozen and buried until now, is the best explanation for the piles of penguin remains of various ages we found there.”

A similar problem is emerging on the other side of the planet, in the Arctic, a part of the world that is warming three times faster than the global average. The thaw of the permafrost spawns a variety of things from the distant past, including nasty pathogens and frozen creatures. The research was published in the journal Geology. Source