When you hear about mummies, most people think of the Egyptian pharaohs buried in their pyramids or skeletal remains found in South America, but Greenland?
Indeed, the Qilakitsoq Mummies are not famous, but in many ways, they’re way more fascinating than their much older Egyptian counterparts.
For one thing, the Greenland mummies deserve attention as the conservation process was all-natural and they were so well preserved researchers were able to tell they died on a full stomach and what was their last meal.
What was not established was how they died and how they ended up in two mass graves. Perhaps the most compelling question is whether one or both of the children found in the two graves were buried alive.
10 /10 Eight Inuit Mummies
The eight mummies were discovered by accident in 1972 by two brothers who were grouse hunting near the ancient Qilakitsoq settlement in the Uummannaq region, some 280 miles north of the Arctic Circle.
This is far into the Inuit territory, and by all accounts, the bodies preserved in ice belong to this population, specifically to the Thule culture.
Today, four of the mummies are on permanent display at the Greenland National Museum in Nuuk.
9 /10 Perfect Mummification Conditions
There were two graves not more than 3 ft apart. Archaeologists believe the bodies were so well preserved because it’s an arid environment, with freezing temperatures for most of the year.
Also, the graves were dug at the foot of a big overhanging stone that probably helped keep any moisture away. Radiocarbon dating tests showed that all eight of them died around 1475 AD.