The Qilakitsoq Mummies

The Qilakitsoq mummies are the oldest preserved remains in Greenland. Found close to the site of a small Inuit settlement in 1972, archaeologists have been able to learn a great deal about the mummies’ lifestyles, state of health, even their relationship with each other. However, they have not been able to establish with any certainty how and why they all died.

The Burials

The mummies have been dated to around 1475 AD. The bodies were stacked on top of each other with layers of animal skin in between. Protected by overhanging rock, the dry, freezing conditions resulted in natural mummification.

The bodies were discovered in two graves, a metre apart.

• Grave one contained 3 women, a four year old boy and a six month old baby. Two of the women were young, one between 20-30, the other 25-35 years of age. The final woman was aged between 40-50.
• Grave Two contained three female bodies. Two were in their 50s while the final woman was between 18-21 years of age.

Analysis of the Mummies

Research was as non destructive as possible. Dental development revealed the age of the mummies. DNA extracts were taken from their hair and nails to establish interrelatedness and nutritional health. Indeed, the particularly well preserved mummies were not undressed or dissected in order to preserve them. However, more detailed analysis was carried out on the less well preserved mummies.

Tattoos

Five of the women’s faces were tattooed, as was customary amongst adult Inuit women. The variations in the styles of these tattoos revealed interesting clues about the potential tribal origins of the women. All consisted of blue or black lines arching over the eyebrows and over the cheeks. Three of the women also had lines tattooed beneath their chins. The remaining two showed a stylistic difference-a dot was tattooed on their foreheads instead. These variations could indicate tribal markings, indicating that some of the women may have married into the group.

Health

All of the mummies were well nourished in the period before death. A considerable amount of digested food remained in the intestines whilst isotopic analysis of skin collagen indicates a diet of mainly marine products with only 25% of nutrition derived from plants and animals such as reindeer. However, not all were in perfect health. The four year old was x rayed and revealed to have a deformed pelvis and to be suffering from Calve Perthes disease which was destroying one of his thigh bones, preventing him from walking. One of the older women had an imperfectly healed collar bone which may have limited the use of her left arm. She also had cancer of the back nasal passage which had spread, affecting her eyes and ears. Harris Lines on her bones showed that , whilst she was well fed before death, she had suffered from malnutrition early in her life.

Activities in Life

It was possible to discern activities that would have occupied the women’s day to day life from tell tale clues left on their bodies. Grooves were found in the left thumbnail of one of the women, possibly due to cutting sinew against it. The loss of lower front teeth of the older women suggests the use of the teeth as a vice to hold animal skins when cuttting or working them.

Relationship of the Mummies

Mitochondrial DNA analysis has established that certain members of the group were related. In all, 3 maternal groups were identified. However, burial does not correspond to these family groups. The two oldest women in Grave Two were possibly sisters. One could have been the mother of the youngest woman in Grave One. This young woman appears to have been the mother of the four year old boy buried with her. Either of the remaining young women in the overall group, one found in Grave One and the other in Grave Two could have been the mother of the Grave One baby. The final 40-50 year old female in Grave One was unrelated to any of the others.

Reason for Death

The burial is intriguing. It was not an Inuit custom to bury women and children separately from the men so this does not explain their isolated burial. The health problems of the older child and one of the older women may have caused their death. But what of the others? The possibility that the group burial occurred because all eight individuals died together was considered. Drowning in a boating accident was one theory but there was no evidence to support this. Indeed, analysis cannot determine if the group died at the same time.

However, even though full analysis has not been carried out on the mummy of the baby, it does seem that he may have been buried alive. Inuit custom dictated that a child could be suffocated or buried alive if a woman could not be found to care for it after the death of its mother. Whatever the cause of the death for the others, it seems the child was sent to accompany its mother.

Sources

Archaeology: Theories, methods and practice by Colin Renfrew and Paul Bahn (1994) Thames and Hudson.

Greenland mummies

DNA analysis

Print Article

Email Article

View All Articles

How to subscribe to feeds