If someone told you about a mummy, your mind would quickly wander to the desert, somewhere down in Egypt surrounded by pyramids and pharaohs.
While Egyptian mummies are a world of their own, one that hides dead kings protected by ancient curses – you don’t have to travel to Cairo to catch a glimpse of a mummified mystery.
Right at the center of the New World and far away from the desert, two miners found a hidden treasure amidst their search for gold – The San Pedro Mountains mummy, the body of someone or something hidden deep inside the land for a reason we don’t know.
The San Pedro Mountains mummy
The year is 1932. Two miners, Carr and Mayne, are desperately looking for gold. Trying to relive the gold rush stories their grandparents told them when they were little.
As they dug deep in the Wyoming land, they began to get closer and closer to an ancient mystery. One that nobody solved after close to a century.
When their pickaxes hit something solid more than six feet under, they waited until the dust settled, only to see not gold but a small room. That little place was an ancient tomb, believed to be more than 200 years old.
Inside that small room laid The San Pedro Mountains mummy, the mummified remains of a creature not yet identified.
The body inside the mummy
The room was small, roughly 4 feet wide, 4 feet tall, and 16 feet deep. Not big enough for a normal human being to lie there.
So, the question is, what is The San Pedro Mountains mummy? And that’s a question nobody can answer, at least not entirely.
You can tell the shape of that body was of a small child – but its head was different than a human’s. So, what could match that description?
After a round of X-Rays and DNA testing, several scientists concluded that it was the body of an anencephalic infant. A Native American baby born without a brain. Others believe the body is that of an adult, but not exactly human.
Other than a small child, there were two theories: A hoax made up by people trying to make a quick buck or a Nimerigar, the mythical little people that roamed America.
Nimerigar: A Native American angle for this mystery
Once a forgotten legend, the Nimerigar re-appeared into the American hive-mind when The San Pedro Mountains mummy was first discovered.
The Nimerigar, or Little People, are a mythical race of small humanoids who hunt and attack other creatures to feast on them – and, when one of their own is too weak to hunt, they became prey themselves.
Native Americans believe these Little People roam around and hunt humans and animals. Their description matches that of what was found inside the mummy.
Unfortunately, we have little to no information about the Nimerigar – and the tales about these tiny hunters are not enough proof to verify this theory.
Twisted Hoax or True Story?
After Carr and Mayne stumbled across the mummy, the first reaction was a skeptical one. Most people believed the mummy was a hoax.
At this point, past scientific studies and Native American stories, there’s no reason to believe this mummy was an elaborate hoax of sorts.
While everyone agrees The San Pedro Mountains mummy is real – not too many people agree on what the mummified remains truly are. Was it a Native American child? Or, perhaps, is the mummy proof of the existence of the Nimerigar?
Either option is possible. And, whoever owns the mummy might be able to get closer to the truth.
Where is the San Pedro Mountains mummy now?
Nowadays, there’s a $10,000 reward for The San Pedro Mountains mummy or its location.
Soon after the mummy was discovered, it began to change hands among different people. A couple of businessmen, circus owners, and other so-called entrepreneurs tried to get a hold of the mummy and make money from showing it.
Last seen in 1975, The San Pedro Mountains mummy remains a mystery.
The final known owner, a doctor, was convinced the mummy belonged to an ancient pygmy race, similar to the Nimerigar, but died before he could prove it. Then, the mummy vanished.
Chiquita: A second chance to unveil the mystery
This story is far from over. During the 1990s, years after The San Pedro Mountains mummy disappeared, a Native American family brought Chiquita, a similar mummy, to a scientist.
Studies show certain similarities with both mummies – but without The San Pedro Mountains mummy, there’s not much to be done. Maybe, one day, it’ll appear as suddenly as it did once in 1932.
Want to know more about the Nimerigar? Check out our episode below!
