A travelling exhibition of mummified remains most recently displayed at a tourist fair in Mexico City may pose health risks to the public, experts have warned. Six of the “Mummies of Guanajuato” — which date back to the 1800s — were shown last week at the Tianguis Turistico 2023 tourism fair, which was held in the Palacio Mundo Imperial hotel. While the bodies are usually displayed near to where they were originally found, in El Museo de las Momias (“The Museum of the Mummies”), they have travelled before — most notably with some having been shown in the US back in 2009. However, the Mexican National Institute of Anthropology and History (INAH) has warned that at least one of the mummies appears to be sporting fungal growths, the potential health risks of which, they said, have not been properly considered. It is unclear whether the display cases used at the tourism fair were air-tight, and the institute said that it had not been consulted prior to the exhibition.
The 111 Mummies of Guanajuato — some of which retain hair, leathery skin and clothing — are thought to have been preserved by a combination of the local climate, mineral-rich soils and, in some cases, partial embalming.
The bodies were first interred in a cemetery during a cholera outbreak in the city in 1833, as part of efforts to control the spread of the infection.
They were subsequently dug up between 1870 and 1958. The reason for this unusual course of action was that, at that time, a tax was in place in Guanajuato that required a fee to be paid for a “perpetual burial”.
Some of the bodies for whom the tax had not been paid were thus removed from the ground — and those found to be in better condition were stored in a building nearby.
By the 20th century, the mummies had become something of a tourist attraction, with enterprising cemetery workers charging people a few pesos to visit the building where the remains were being housed.
In 1969, the building had been formally transformed into “The Museum of the Mummies”, in which 59 of the specimens have been on display since 2007.
Among the collections are the smallest mummy in the world — that of a foetus from a pregnant woman who fell victim to cholera during the outbreak.
The Mummies of Guanajuato notably appeared in the opening sequence of the German director Werner Herzog’s 1979 horror film, “Nosferatu the Vampyre”.
In a statement, the INAH said that they refused any liability for damage to the cultural heritage of the people of Guanajuato resulting from the recent exhibition in Mexico City.
They said: “In relation to the exhibition of the mummified bodies in the Tianguis Turístico 2023, the INAH is unaware of the objective of its presence, as well as of the project related to the movement and exhibition in this event.
“This institution at no time received a request for authorization or advice for handling and transfer, as well as environmental conditions during their stay at the fairgrounds.
“From some photographs published in the media, it has been observed that at least one of the bodies shown […] shows signs of proliferation of possible fungal colonies.
“[This] is worrying and strange that an assessment of such bodies has not been called before their transfer.”
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The INAH continued: “It is even more worrying that they are on display without biosafety conditions for the public that visits them.
“All of the above must be carefully analysed to understand whether such indications represent a risk both for the heritage bodies, as well as for those who manage them and for those who visit them.
“The INAH denies all liability for any damage caused to the bodies during their transfer, handling and exhibition, as well as the damage that possible pathogens may cause due to a lack of control in the minimum care essential for their exposure.
“The institute reiterates that this type of remains require careful, specialised and responsible handling.”
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