via University of Melbourne/Phys.org, 23 January 2024: The Kabayan “fire” mummies, located in Luzon’s northern mountains, Philippines, are a testament to an ancient mummification tradition practiced by the Ibaloi people. Dating back to 200 BC, these mummies are now at risk due to environmental changes and deterioration. In 2023, a research team from the University of Melbourne, supported by the National Geographic Society, installed environmental monitors to study and preserve these cultural treasures, revealing a crucial intersection of ancestral ties, technology, and conservation efforts.
From a conservation standpoint, understanding these changing environmental conditions is essential to developing effective preventive measures that can help preserve these cultural treasures.
Our aim in traveling to Kabayan was to install weatherproof environmental monitors that measure the relative humidities (RH) and temperatures at seven rock shelters that will record environmental data for the next 10 months.
These measurements will tell us the environmental patterns in and around the rock shelters, which can potentially inform future conservation treatments for the preservation of the Kabayan mummies.
The monitors are set up inside the caves, but because they are bluetooth enabled, the local teams collecting and downloading the data each month don’t have to repeatedly access the rock shelters, which could contribute to further deterioration of the mummies.
Source: Ancestral ties to the Kabayan ‘fire’ mummies is driving research to save them
