In a museum in Germany, they found a mummy of a monkey wearing feathers

Now an international team of researchers has revealed that it is the mummy of a black-and-gold howler monkey, the South American monkey Alouatta caraya. According to the analysis, the animal probably originated from northeastern Argentina, from a region associated with the Gran Chaco and the Paraná River basin. The work was published in the journal Archaeological and Anthropological Sciences.

Most interestingly, the mummy was not just dried and preserved. It was decorated with fabrics, feathers of nandu and white herons. Scientists believe that such an object could have a ceremonial value. But this is a cautious version: there are no direct descriptions of such a ritual yet.

Details

The mummy is kept in the Museum of Archaeology in Gotthorf Castle in Germany. According to old museum records, it entered the European collection in the late 19th century. Earlier it was considered an ethnographic object from South America, but it was not studied in detail by modern methods.

The researchers conducted molecular, morphological, isotopic, radiocarbon and archival analyses. This allowed them to determine the species of the animal, the approximate region of origin, the age and how the mummy was prepared.

The analyses indicated that it was a young adult black-and-gold howler monkey. Radiocarbon dating placed the mummy in late pre-colonial or early colonial times, roughly between the 15th and 17th centuries.

The body was preserved by desiccation. Inside was plant material similar to straw or wood fibres. The outside of the mummy was decorated with cloth and feathers. Such details are important: they show that in front of us is not accidentally dried animal, and specially prepared object.

Scientists assume that the monkey could have been caught in the wild or briefly kept near people before mummification. Isotope analysis indicates a plant-based diet, not unlike prolonged human feeding, so the short-keeping version looks more likely.

Why it matters

Primate mummies are usually associated with dry regions - such as Egypt or northern Chile. This find is unusual in that it comes from subtropical South America, where such objects are much less well preserved. Therefore, the very preservation of the mummy already makes it rare.

The find also helps us understand the place monkeys may have had in the beliefs of the indigenous peoples of the Gran Chaco. In the myths and stories of some peoples of the region, howler monkeys are associated with transformation, shamans, voice, wind, rain and other natural forces. For this reason, researchers are cautious about allowing that the mummy may have been used in a ritual or ceremonial context.

But it's important not to jump to too strong a conclusion. Scholars have found no written description of a specific ritual where such a mummy was used. Ritual function is a reconstruction based on several attributes: animal species, jewellery, museum data, region of origin and cultural context.

Background

Black-and-gold howler monkeys live in South America and are known for their loud voice. Their cries can be heard from a great distance, so it is not surprising that such animals may have received special meaning in traditional representations.

The story of the mummy itself also shows another side of science: important discoveries are sometimes made not in the field, but in museum collections. The object lay in a collection for decades until new techniques - DNA analysis, isotopes, and radiocarbon dating - made it possible to see its real story.

Source

Bernardo Urbani et al, "Inside a monkey with rhea feathers: Characterising the nonhuman primate mummy from the Gran Chaco, South America", Archaeological and Anthropological Sciences, 2026.