Mammoth Cave National Park

Mammoth Cave National Park

Mummy in the Cave

Two guides discovered the desiccated body of an American Indian pinned beneath a limestone slab in 1935, two miles from the entrance of Mammoth Cave. The American Indian was working or crawling (probably mining minerals) under the slab, when it slumped onto him. The body was so well preserved—including hair, skin, and intestinal organs—that scientists could tell a great deal about him. He was about 45 years old and 5 feet 3 inches tall. He had sound teeth and bones and only a few intestinal parasites. He was barefoot and was wearing a kind of wraparound skirt or woven fabric. Next to him were some torch fragments and a woven bag, presumably brought to carry nuts.