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Tiny 'alien' skeleton found in desert could be nocturnal humanoid that lived in a cave - Daily Star

A tiny 'alien' skeleton, dubbed Ata, was found in an abandoned desert church with researchers now believing the remains could have been a small humanoid from the Middle Ages

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A tiny 'alien' skeleton discovered in the desert 20 years ago might actually be a small humanoid from the Middle Ages.

The skeletal remains, known as Ata, were found in an abandoned church in the Atacama Desert in Chile in 2003 by Oscar Munoz. He later sold it to Spanish businessman and researcher Ramon Navia-Osorio Villar.

Mr Navia-Osorio thinks the skeleton belongs to a tiny race of people who lived alongside the Aymara people in South America many years ago – but others aren't so sure. In 2018, DNA analysis suggested the skeleton was a human female foetus with unusual mutations linked to dwarfism and scoliosis.

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However, a recent study led by bioarchaeology professor Sian Halcrow disputed this. "As experts in human anatomy and skeletal development, we find no evidence for any of the skeletal anomalies claimed by the authors," the study concluded.

Since Ata's discovery, there has been wild speculation about its origins, with many reckoning it could be extraterrestrial. This theory gained traction after the skeleton featured in a documentary as potential evidence for alien life.

However, Mr Navia-Osorio recently appeared on the Spanish TV show 'Fourth Millennium' where he dismissed the idea of it being alien. He said: "We received it at the Spanish Royal Academy of Sciences and there we carried out the first X-ray, with low radiation so as not to damage the specimen. They already told us that they did not know what it was, the head was so voluminous.

"The hands were so elongated, it had no kneecaps, the clavicle was more triangular than that of humans. I started to worry."

Mr Navia-Osorio, some of his colleagues firmly stated Ata was not a human foetus. He questioned: "How could it be a foetus if it had calluses on its feet? This creature was not extraterrestrial, it was terrestrial."

The researcher believes Ata does not come from outer space, but rather coexisted with humans many years ago. He explained: "They were very small people who lived in caves and only came out at night, hence its strange almond-shaped eyes. A native friend from the Aymara tribe told me that these beings used to live with their ancestors before the Spanish settlers arrived."

The mystery of Ata's origins remains unsolved for now.

Tiny

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