# 6 inch 'alien' skeleton is human, died at age 6 to 8

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/6-inch-alien-skeleton-is-human-died-at-age-6-to-8/657227>\
**Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\
**Created:** [May 1, 2013, 5:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/6-inch-alien-skeleton-is-human-died-at-age-6-to-8/657227 "2013-05-01T17:36:27Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 3\
**Page:** 2

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**Author:** ![Euryphaessa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/c5a1d2/32.png) [@Euryphaessa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Euryphaessa)\
**Post date:** [May 2, 2013, 2:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/6-inch-alien-skeleton-is-human-died-at-age-6-to-8/657227/21 "2013-05-02T14:42:16Z")

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> [@DataX](#):
>
> How do they do it in a case that seems to be so different than any other? When certain areas fuse together? Seems like 6-8 is pretty specific.

I was thinking it might be the proportion of cartilage in the bones. Bones don’t completely ossify until the body is done growing.

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**Author:** ![Malthus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/85f322/32.png) [@Malthus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malthus)\
**Post date:** [May 2, 2013, 3:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/6-inch-alien-skeleton-is-human-died-at-age-6-to-8/657227/22 "2013-05-02T15:25:24Z")

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Others have concluded that the object is a mummified fetus.

> **[Analysis of the Atacama humanoid alien](https://openminds.tv/analysis-of-the-atacama-humanoid-alien-972/)**
>
> We’ve discovered since a number of things, including the original 7 minute TV program about the case aired by Chile’s Megavisión Channel V shortly after the creature’s discovery was published in the…

> [@](#):
>
> The second transcribed document is a forensic medical report written by Dr. Francisco Etxeberria Gabilondo, a professor of Legal and Forensic Medicine in the Basque Country University, and specialist in Forensic Anthropology with the Complutense University, who wrote the study at the bequest of the IIEE (probably for a fee, although that is not mentioned). Dr. Etxeberria wrote that, “it’s a mummified body with all typical the characteristics of a fetus. The body has a length of 14 cm and displays all the structures and anatomical links normal for the head, trunk and extremities.” He continues with a detailed description of each part of the body and finally gives his overall view:  
> “Taken as a whole, the proportions of the anatomical structures (skeleton and softer parts), the level of development of each one of its bones and its macroscopic configuration, allow us to interpret it without any shadow of doubt as a completely normal mummified fetus…Both based on the total length of the body as well as the length of the bones, it can be estimated that it’s a fetus in an approximate gestation period close to 15 weeks.”

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**Author:** ![PoorYorick](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ecccb3/32.png) [@PoorYorick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PoorYorick)\
**Post date:** [May 2, 2013, 5:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/6-inch-alien-skeleton-is-human-died-at-age-6-to-8/657227/23 "2013-05-02T17:11:10Z")

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For this age range, age is usually determined by a combination of epiphyseal fusion and dental development.

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