Kilakitsok ( grenl . Qilakitsoq ) - an archaeological site on the Nuusuak Peninsula, on the shores of the Wummannak Fjord in the north-west of Greenland . Formally a settlement, it is famous for discovering eight mummified bodies in 1972 . Four of the mummies are currently on display at the National Museum of Greenland .
Archaeological site
The remains of bodies dating back to 1475 were found in an ice grave [1] . Four of the eight bodies found are well preserved due to the fact that they were buried under a rock at cold temperature. The process of lyophilization [2] .
In the first grave, mummies of six women lying on top of each other were found. The bodies of two boys lay on top, one of them is well preserved. In a neighboring grave on top of each other were the bodies of three women [1] . Both pits were covered with stones. The grave was found in 1972 by two brothers during a hunt. The hunters informed the authorities about their find, but her research was carried out only in 1977.
Along with mummies, 78 items of clothing sewn from the skins of reindeer, seals and other animals were found in the graves. The boy may have suffered symptoms of Down Syndrome ; five out of six women had tattoos on their faces. The child is best known among the rest of the bodies, and perhaps he was buried alive. In the event of the death of the mother, this was customary in Eskimo culture .
In 2007, DNA testing proved close family ties between all mummies [3] .
See also
- Dorset (culture)
- Saccak (culture)
- Thule (culture)
Notes
- β 1 2 The Genetic Genealogist
- β The Official Tourism and Business Site of Greenland
- β Gilbert, M. Thomas P .; Djurhuus, Durita; Melchior, Linea; Lynnerup, Niels; Worobey, Michael; Wilson, Andrew S; Andreasen, Claus; Dissing, JΓΈRgen. MtDNA from hair and nail clarifies the genetic relationship of the 15th century Qilakitsoq Inuit mummies (English) // American Journal of Physical Anthropology : journal. - 2007. - Vol. 133 , no. 2 . - P. 847-853 . - DOI : 10.1002 / ajpa.20602 . - PMID 17427925 .