Debunking the "Nazca Mummies" in 2026

YouTube channel INCREDIBLE HISTORY (history teacher Will Brown): "EXPOSING The Craziest Hoax of All Time - Nazca Mummies" posted on YouTube Jan 5, 2026

.

Posted on You Tube by Incredible History Jan 5 2026.

.

"In this video, Doctor Dan Proctor, a PHD in Bio Anthropology, lays it out very clearly why Maria and Monseratt's hands and feet have been amputated and manipulated.
His observations are backed up by a Radiographer with over 2 decades of experience.
Doctor Joe Wilson, PHD in Anthropology with a background working in Molecular Genetic Testing explains to us why the DNA studies are all Bunk (see also here).
This video also features an interview with Raul from Pillars of the Past [@PillarsofthePast101], who is remaining agnostic on the topic but provided information about grave robbing as well as how much these new "Mummies" are selling for".

The first 28 minutes go through the evidence for the faking of the mummies from the use and abuse of human remains. The small mummies are shown to be (as by now most people think is clearly the case) pastiches made up from odd loose bones encased in some outer layer that is real dessicated skin. Much of it focuses on the mummy known as "Maria". Evidence is presented suggesting that the Nazca mummy "Maria" was created from a human mummy through deliberate manipulation, involving amputation and bone rearrangement to simulate a non-human form. Expert analysis indicates the hands exhibit signs of modern faking; for example, the trapezium bone, essential for thumb articulation, remains despite the removal of the thumb. In a natural tridactyl organism, the unused joint surfaces and the bone itself would not exist. To create unnaturally long fingers, additional bones were added. So the first metacarpal (normally part of the thumb and  featuring a distinctive V-shape inconsistent with a finger's hinge joint), has been relocated to lengthen a central finger.  

Similar techniques were applied to the feet to achieve a tridactyl look. Radiographic evidence shows that the first (big toe) and fifth (pinky toe) metatarsals were amputated. The remaining bones in the midfoot are disconnected and poorly aligned. One central metatarsal is "transposed," sitting awkwardly between where the second and third toes should be. Radiographers noted that certain soft tissues such as muscles in the sole of the foot were also amputated, which experts described as a "dead giveaway" for deliberate modification.

 
There is then a discussion of Monserrat (a male with different structure hands - was this the mummy that was being created that Mera refers to?). Similar problems are highlighted. There is then brief discussion of "Wawita" (a baby), as a clear example butchered mummy. 

Mr Brown then briefly introduces the story of Steve Mera (see my post on his video a year ago covering in more detail what Mr Mera discovered). He was asked to verify that these things were authentic finds, but when because of what he saw, he became sceptical the attitudes of his handlers changed:

"But these guys are dangerous. These were and you know they they've been involved in numerous things including allegedly um people have gone missing or been shot and so on and so forth. So you don't mess about with these guys. And um we like I say, we'd had our death threats, myself and Barry". 

The video then draws attention to the state of one of the mummies: 

"And if all that wasn't enough, it appears that Maria might just expose herself before anyone else does it. She's degrading at a rapid pace. Look at her chin and neck area. That looks like fiberglass tape or gauze. This is apparently new. In April 2025, when I went and saw Maria, that was not apparent. I was talking with my friend Raul from Pillars of the Past and he pointed out that maybe, if he just wanted to play devil's advocate here, it's some type of textile that was fused to the skin over time. And maybe, but even if that was the case, that would still put a big hole in the original story, which was that these mummies were found the way that they appear. But just look at the difference between her from when she was discovered in 2016 and now. People say it's because she's no longer covered in the diatomacous earth and she's degrading now that she's not in the environment that she was in before where she was discovered. Yeah. Or maybe it's because she was freshly Frankensteined back in 2016 with the diatomacous earth shortly before this picture was taken. And after 10 years of being dug up, she's rapidly degrading."

The discussion then turns to highlighting the connection between the clandestine excavation and trading of these faked mummies and the widespread grave robbing and a thriving black market for antiquities in Peru, as shared by Raul from the YouTube channel Pillars of the Past. Raul had recently met Mario, the grave robber (or "huaquero") credited with discovering these mummies. This encounter occurred serendipitously while Raul was staying at a hostel in the Palpa region; the owner connected him to Mario. Initially, Mario demanded $300 for 20 questions and charges up to $3,000 for desert tours, positioning himself as a profiteer in this niche. He revealed possessing hundreds more specimens beyond the few donated for study, and even showed Raul video footage of small, tailed "new models" on his phone, underscoring the ongoing exploitation of these finds.

In the video, the process of looting of sites, including ancient tombs, in Peru is depicted as an industrial-scale crisis, with Raul describing sites ravaged to the point of resembling the moon's surface, pockmarked by looting pits stretching up to eight kilometers. During his 2024 expedition, he encountered fields littered with thousands of scattered bones, body parts, and artifacts, with human remains torn apart and textiles discarded in disarray all lying on the ground surface. Looters target valuables like jewelry, metallurgy, and especially ancient textiles, which Raul witnessed being stripped from mummies and sold. 

The antiquities market driving this looting is criminal and lucrative, with a network of buyers often American, demanding provenance through videos of excavations to verify authenticity. Mario disclosed that for every few mummies studied, he has a hundred more, and buyers purchase even fragments like fingers. A small tailed specimen was priced at $20,000, illustrating the high value placed on these items, whether genuine or fabricated. Profits escalate as items pass through intermediaries, flipping for higher amounts. The black market thrives on international demand, perpetuating the cycle of destruction. Strikingly, the fascination with collecting Nazca mummies appears to be largely an American phenomenon. 

This video is well-researeched and put-together and does a good job of presenting the issue and placing it in a wider context.