Bodies of Evidence
Case studies
The Inuit Women
How did the Inuit women die?
In 1972, eight perfectly preserved bodies – six women, a child and
a very young baby – were found in a cave in Qilakitsoq, Greenland,
site of an abandoned Inuit settlement dating from 500 years ago. Did they
starve to death? Were they victims of an epidemic? Why were there no men
in the group?
The bitter cold and icy winds meant that these bodies had effectively
been freeze-dried after death. As a result, their tissues and clothes
had hardly deteriorated.
A forensic archaeologist examined the remains
using a CAT scan, which gives a three
dimensional picture of the inside of the body. Food was found in the women's
stomachs, so they did not starve to death. Nor did they die of cold. They
were well-dressed for extreme temperatures – the baby's clothes were
made from the skin of baby seals, with the soft fur turned inwards. How
they died remains an open question but the bodies provided valuable information
about how the Inuit lived.
• Webchat
with expert Niels Lynnerup.
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The Romanovs
Vladimir Lenin
Taung Child
St Clare
The Inuit Women
Witch burial
Barber surgeon
Slave grave
Turin shroud
The disappeared
Medieval coffins
Java Man
Animal mummies
Neanderthals
Hybrid skeleton
Cherchen Man
Body Farm
Mummy medicine
Tooth decay
Maronite mummies
Tooth implant
Polynesians
Andes mummies
Lefthandedness
Ice-Age Footprints
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