Museum staff mishandling leads to 19th century mummy’s arm detaching, Mexican government reports

The National Institute of Anthropology and History (INAH) in Mexico City has accused the city of Guanajuato of mishandling a famous mummified body from the 19th century. During recent renovations at a museum where the mummified bodies are displayed, the arm of one of the mummies came off, sparking a dispute between the federal agency and the conservative-governed city.

The mummies, buried around the early 1800s and unearthed in the 1860s due to families not being able to pay burial fees, have been on display in glass cases in a museum in Guanajuato for decades. The INAH claims jurisdiction over the mummies as national patrimony, while Guanajuato sees them as a tourist attraction.

The INAH has demanded an explanation for the mishandling of the mummified body during the museum renovations, stating that proper protocols were not followed. The institute expressed concern over the lack of knowledge and training of personnel involved in the preservation of the mummies.

This is not the first time mummified remains have caused a political stir in Mexico. In 2023, concerns were raised about the health risks posed by a traveling display of mummies due to fungal growths on one of the bodies. The handling of historical remains has been a contentious issue in the country, with past incidents involving the removal and destruction of body parts of prominent figures like revolutionary Gen. Álvaro Obregón and former president Antonio López de Santa Anna.

The city government of Guanajuato has yet to respond to the accusations made by the INAH, further escalating the dispute over the treatment of the mummified bodies.