Scientist: 12 Centimeter Skeleton Used in UFO Documentary Definitely Human

Suffered from severe dwarfism and died at age 6 or 7, or of rapid aging and died in the womb or after a premature birth

Alien? Subhuman primate? Deformed child? Mummified foetus? The internet is buzzing over the nature of "Ata", a bizarre 12-centimetre-long skeleton featured in a new documentary on UFOs. A Stanford University scientist who boldly entered the fray has now put to rest doubts about what species Ata belongs to. But the mystery is not over.

The story began 10 years ago, when the diminutive remains were reportedly found in a pouch in a ghost town in the Atacama Desert of Chile. Ata ended up in a private collection in Barcelona; producers of the film Sirius latched onto the bizarre mummy as evidence of alien life.