Researchers have found the world’s oldest evidence of intentional mummification: hunter-gatherers in southern China, Vietnam, and Indonesia smoke-dried their dead up to 14,000 years ago.

Analysis of 54 crouching burials revealed bone charring consistent with long exposure to low heat, a method still used in parts of Papua New Guinea.

The discovery predates the earliest known mummification in Chile and Egypt by thousands of years and suggests ancient hunter-gatherers had complex funerary practices and beliefs about death, CNN has reported.

Scientists say the findings highlight a deep human desire to preserve connections with the deceased.