These mummies are what's left of a tradition that was carried out for hundreds of years up until the 19th century.

Known popularly as "meking" or the "fire mummies," these sacred remains are the preserved ancestors of the Ibaloi, one of the distinct ethnolinguistic groups of the mountainous Cordillera Benguet region.

Some of the history of the mummies has been lost over time, but what we do know is that this process of mummification dates back as early as 200 BC and involved drying and dehydrating human remains using heat and smoke from a fire—giving us the term "fire mummy."

In the municipality of Kabayan, according to UNESCO, "more than 200 man-made burial caves have been identified … 15 of which contain preserved human mummies."

While many of the rock shelters that house these unique mummies have been forgotten or purposefully hidden, about 10 Kabayan sites remain well known.

Some of these sites have been there for hundreds of years, but due to progressive environmental changes, the mummies are slowly deteriorating. And it was a surprise family link to the Kabayan mummies that helped drive our research into how best to conserve them.