There Are More Answers (and Questions) as to the Identity of This Tiny, Alien-Like Skeleton

"Ata" (Image: YouTube screenshot)

Featured in a crowd-funded documentary about extraterrestrials and the advanced energy technology they supposedly possess is a 6-inch humanoid skeleton with what many would describe as alien-like features. People were surprised when Garry Nolan with Stanford University said, after "Sirius" aired in April, that the skeleton was likely human based on its DNA.

Now, Science Magazine is featuring a more detailed analysis from the director of stem cell biology at Stanford University’s School of Medicine in California. The ultimate conclusion from Nolan is that the skeleton "is human, there's no doubt about it."

"Sirius," the documentary led by Steven Greer, dubbed the skeleton Ata because it was found in Chile’s Atacama desert. Nolan heard about the skeleton and offered to filmmakers to give it his scientific look.

Here's more from Science Magazine regarding the skeleton's abnormalities and hypothesized age (emphasis added):

Among the apparent abnormalities, Ata sports 10 ribs instead of the usual 12 and a severely misshapen skull. "I asked our neonatal care unit how you would go about analyzing it. Had they seen this kind of syndrome before?" Nolan says. He was directed to pediatric radiologist Ralph Lachman, co-director of the International Skeletal Dysplasia Registry at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles, California. "He literally wrote the book on pediatric bone disorders," Nolan says. Lachman was blown away, Nolan recalls: "He said, 'Wow, this is like nothing I've ever seen before.' "

To study the specimen, Nolan sought clues in Ata's genome. He initially presumed the specimen was tens or hundreds of thousands of years old—the Atacama Desert may be the driest spot on the planet, so Ata could have been preserved for eons. He consulted experts who had extracted DNA from bones of the Denisovans, an Asian relative of European Stone Age Neandertals. It turned out that their protocols weren't necessary. "The DNA was modern, abundant, and high quality," he says, indicating that the specimen is probably a few decades old.

(Image: YouTube screenshot)

Looking at Ata's mitochondrial DNA, scientists confirmed its heritage as likely being from Chile as its mother was from the west coast of South America.

So, if Ata is of human origin and is only a few decades old, what caused it to have such an alien-like appearance?

(Image: YouTube screenshot)

Looking at the development of the skeleton, Lachman believes Ata's age was between 6 to 8 years old. This gives them two options about Ata's bizarre deformities, Nolan said. Either Ata had a severe form of dwarfism or it was really a 22-week-old fetus that had a disease causing it to age rapidly, like progeria, and died before reaching a full-term birth. Looking into both of these possibilities, Nolan didn't find the genes for either condition.

Science Magazine reported Nolan saying he is researching other genetic mutations and toxins that could have led to such a skeleton.

Getting another opinion, Science reported William Jungers, a paleoanthropologist and anatomist at Stony Brook University Medical Center, saying he thinks Ata was a mummified human fetus or premature stillbirth. Nolan said this explanation wouldn't account for the unusual rib number and other features.

Still think Ata might be a hoax? Nolan too said that based on his analysis "you just couldn't fake it ... unless you were an alien."

If you haven't seen the trailer for the "Sirius" documentary that spurred the story of Ata to go viral, check it out:

(H/T: NeatORama)

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Related:

• The DNA Test Results of That 6-Inch 'Humanoid of Unknown Classification' Are In
• Documentary Trailer Claims to Show 'Humanoid of Unknown Classification' That's Just a Few Inches Tall