They have largely been dismissed as a hoax by the scientific community,

And yet, it seems, conspiracy theorists are still fascinated by the 'three fingered mummies' with elongated heads that were found in Peru last year.

Now, one Russian 'expert' claims he has done DNA tests to prove they are not human.

Dr Konstantin Korotkov, a professor of Computer Science and Biophysics at Saint-Petersburg Federal University believes the mummies are 'aliens'.

Dr Korotkov is no stranger to controversy. He was widely criticised in 2008 when he claimed to have created a camera that could photograph the human soul.

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A group of self-proclaimed paranormal researchers claim they have found proof of aliens near an ancient city in Peru. A pair of three-fingered mummified 'bodies' with elongated skulls found close to Nazca are not human, the group has concluded. Pictured is one of the bodies

One of the mummies, known as Maria, was found by a team led by controversial Mexican journalist Jamie Maussan in early 2017.

The conspiracy group drew attention to the body's deformed head and elongated fingers in a short documentary on the discovery.

Dr Korotkov of Saint-Petersburg University said at the time the features were not a deformity and that the find was 'another creature, another humanoid.'

Now Dr Korotkov his team claim to have undertaken genetic tests on tissue samples taken from the mummy, as well as a second individual found nearby named Vavita, Sputnik News reports.

They said the bodies date back to about the 5th century AD and could be extraterrestrials or cyborgs.

But British alien expert Nigel Watson, author of the UFO Investigations Manual, said the finds are most likely a hoax.

He told MailOnline: 'I think the whole saga of finding these mummies is laughable and they are very probably fakes.

'The new evidence does indicate the Maria is human, the only strange thing is that she has an unusual rib structure. This is probably because she is a so-called bone montage made by fakers.

'If you think about it how would humanoid aliens with three long fingers survive? They would be incredibly clumsy and it seems doubtful they would be capable of making a cup of tea let alone a flying saucer.

WHAT ARE THE NAZCA MUMMIES AND ARE THEY REAL? A group of self-proclaimed paranormal researchers claim they have found proof of aliens near the city of Nazca in Peru. The team say they have found a number of mysterious three-fingered 'mummified humanoid' with elongated skulls. Early last year, the group recorded a short documentary of a research trip into a cave near Nazca, where they found what appeared to be a mummified body. The body was found covered in white powder, which the team say was used to preserve the remains. They claim that carbon dating samples of the body dates between 245 – 410 AD, though the validity of these tests has not yet been verified. Since this find, the group say they have found at least five other alien bodies in the region of similar sizes and proportions. Some conspiracy theorists think the three-fingered mummies, found last year, may be the remains of alien visitors to Earth. Early last year, a conspiracy group recorded a short documentary of a research trip into a cave near Nazca, where they found what appeared to be a mummified body (left). Pictured right is a Cat scan of the individual named 'Maria' by the team But not everyone is convinced by the finds, with one UFO expert saying the 'extraterrestrials' are plastercast models made as part of an elaborate hoax. Leading UFO expert Nigel Watson, author of Haynes UFO Investigations Manual, told MailOnline last year: 'I'm no expert on ancient mummified bodies but they tend to be more leatherish looking. 'This seems to be a plastercast over a bone structure with three fingers attached to the hands. Such hoaxes are the product of wishful thinking mixed with greed and a lust for publicity.' Jamie Maussan, an ex-investigative journalist who is infamous for his involvement in several high-profile UFO hoaxes, was part of the Peruvian mummy team. In May 2015, he promoted photographic slides claiming to be pictures of an alien recovered from the Roswell flying saucer crash of 1947 that were later proved to be fake. The group's lead researcher Dr Konstantin Korotkov of Russia's Saint Petersburg University has previously stirred controversy when he claimed he had invented a camera that can photograph the soul. Advertisement

'It also doesn't look good that this Earth shattering news was originally fed to us via a website you have to subscribe to, rather than through officially recognised scientific channels.'

Nick Pope, who used to investigate UFOs and other mysteries for the Ministry of Defence, and is a leading expert on conspiracy theories, told MailOnline he also doubted the validity of the find.

'All these stories of mummified aliens - or mummified human/alien hybrids - are either fake news, or misunderstandings of normal human variation, perhaps where something has been lost in translation,' he said.

'In this case, I suspect a hoax, and the 'mummy' looks more like a plaster model than anything else.

The alien-hunting team behind the find claim that carbon dating samples of the body date it between 245 – 410 AD, though the validity of these tests has not yet been verified. Pictured is an x-ray of the mummy's skull reportedly taken by the team

'If this was real, we'd be seeing peer-reviewed articles in magazines such as Science or Nature.'

The group claimed that Vavita was nine months old when she died and Maria was an adult woman, leading them to believe they were mother and child.

Dr Korotkov said: 'Tomographic scans reveal their skeletons. The tissue has biological nature and their chemical composition indicates that they are humans.

Their DNA features 23 pairs of chromosomes, just like we have. They appear human but they are not. Their anatomic structure is different.'

The paranormal researcher added that the individuals' rib structure is different to that of humans as the bones are keel-shaped in the upper part and the rib cage consists of semicircular ribs.

Dr Korotkov has previously stirred controversy when he claimed in 2009 that he had invented a camera that can photograph the soul.

The body was found covered in white powder, which the team say was used to preserve the remains. New tests show the chemical used was cadmium-chloride, the researchers claim

He has also previously made a host of pseudo-scientific pronouncements about the measurement of human 'auras'.

The researcher is a computer science and biophysics at Saint-Petersburg Federal University of Informational Technologies, Mechanics and Optics.

Though his website claims he works as a researcher at the 'Saint Petersburg Academy of Physical Culture' and as President of the 'International Union for Medical and Applied Bioelectrography', there are no signs of these institutions online.

The scientists added the team also studied the mummies' internal organs.

'We clearly see the contours of the trachea and the bronchi, of the heart and its chambers; we can even see the shape of the valves,' radiologist Natalia Zaloznaya.

'We can also see quite clearly the contours of the diaphragm, the liver, and the spleen.'

The body was found covered in white powder, which at the time of the find the team suggested was used to preserve the remains.

Despite the excitement around the new find, not everyone is convinced the alien mummies are real. Leading UFO expert Nigel Watson claims that mummies usually look leathery, and that the Peruvian finds look like plaster cast

The new tests show this powder is the antibacterial chemical cadmium chloride, according to the researchers.

They claim that carbon dating samples of the body dates between 245 – 410 AD, though the validity of these tests has not yet been verified.

Despite the excitement among conspiracy theorists around the finds, there may be a more simple explanation.

Leading UFO expert Nigel Watson, author of Haynes UFO Investigations Manual, told MailOnline last year: 'I'm no expert on ancient mummified bodies but they tend to be more leatherish looking.

'This seems to be a plastercast over a bone structure with three fingers attached to the hands.'

'Such hoaxes are the product of wishful thinking mixed with greed and a lust for publicity.

'The more exotic the claim the more viewers they generate, and so we get ever more bizarre 'revelations' about alien corpses, flying saucer wreckage and messages from our alien masters.'

A group of self-proclaimed paranormal researchers claim they have found proof of aliens near the ancient city of Nazca in Peru

And it's not just the mummy itself that has raised eyebrows among sceptics.

Jamie Maussan, an ex-investigative journalist who is infamous for his involvement in several high-profile UFO hoaxes, was part of the Peruvian mummy team.

In May 2015, he promoted photographic slides claiming to be pictures of an alien recovered from the Roswell flying saucer crash of 1947.

They were revealed to the world at a conference in Mexico, where he charged £15 ($20) for people to watch a live video stream of the event.

The slides were said to have been thoroughly researched yet they were soon discovered to be pictures of a mummy in a museum exhibition.

'Jamie Maussan is infamous for promoting dodgy UFO videos and alien artefacts,' Mr Watson said.

'He has cried wolf too often to be ever taken seriously by anyone with at least one functioning brain cell.'