Twelve terrifying discoveries have emerged from beneath Siberia’s permafrost, and one of them has scientists questioning what else is still frozen in time. Among the finds were ancient carcasses preserved for thousands of years, but it was the revival of a microscopic worm, dormant for over 46,000 years, that stunned researchers.
Siberia’s permafrost has preserved a wide range of organic material for thousands of years, from prehistoric animals to ancient human remains. In recent decades, researchers studying this frozen ground have recovered specimens that offer new insight into extinct species, early human history, and long-buried pathogens. The following accounts describe some of the more notable discoveries to emerge f…