article_snippet: (CNN)As long as 7,000 years ago, the Chinchorro people who lived along the desert coast of what is now Chile and Peru were mummifying the bodies of those who died.
article_snippet: As a result, scientists at the University of Tarapaca's archeological museum in Arica, northern Chile, have already seen some of its 120 prized examples of Chinchorro mummies start turning into a "black ooze," its said.
article_snippet: Egypt dig unearths 3,600-year-old mummy .
article_snippet: Egypt's mummies get CT scans .
article_snippet: A "complicated process" was used to prepare Egypt's mummies, said Marcela Sepulveda, professor of archaeology at the University of Tarapaca, cited in the news release.
article_snippet: Marcela Sepulveda, professor of archaeology at the University of Tarapaca, cited in the news release involved removing the brain and organs, replacing the brain and organs with natural fiber and ash, stitching the body back up with reeds and covering the skin with a paste of manganese, ocher or brown mud, depending on the period.
article_snippet: The Chinchorro people mummified human remains for more than 3,000 years.
article_snippet: The oldest of Egypt's mummies date back some 2,000 years before the ancient Egyptians mummified Egyptians pharaohs.
article_snippet: Scan reveals 1,000-year-old mummified monk hidden in statue .
highlights_snippet: Some specimens at a Chile museum have started to decompose into  a "black ooze" 