In 1972, an astonishing discovery in the frozen wilderness of Greenland rewrote the narrative of North American mummies. Unearthed at an abandoned Inuit encampment, a family of eight Inuits, including a six-month-old baby, emerged from the permafrost, remarkably preserved after five centuries. This extraordinary find is now known as the Qilakitsoq mummies, a testament to the region’s ice-cold climate inadvertently preserving their skin, fingernails, and hair.
The Qilakitsoq settlement, situated 280 miles north of the Arctic on Greenland’s west coast, became the final resting place for this ancient family around 1475 AD. Archaeologists believe the deaths were not simultaneous, as the two graves housing the bodies are a meter apart. Intriguingly, the bodies were stacked on top of each other, separated by carefully placed layers of animal skin.
Six adult women, adorned with distinctive facial tattoos on their foreheads and chins, were among the discovered mummies. The shocking revelation that the six-month-old baby appeared to have been buried alive shed light on Inuit burial traditions of the time. According to custom, if a mother passed away, her children, even if alive, were buried with her to ensure the family’s passage to the afterlife together.
The mummification process was so effective that many of the deceased were still draped in fur coats, the very garments they wore to ward off the Arctic chill. A total of 78 articles of clothing made from seal, reindeer, and other animal skins were recovered, providing valuable insights into the material culture of the ancient Inuit people.
Despite decades of study, the circumstances leading to the family’s demise and the cause of their deaths remain elusive. This lack of clarity adds an air of mystery to the Qilakitsoq mummies, sparking continuous interest and ongoing research.
Today, four of these remarkably preserved mummies find their permanent home at the Greenland National Museum in Nuuk, allowing visitors to witness firsthand the frozen echoes of an ancient family. The Qilakitsoq mummies not only stand as a testament to the accidental mummification process of the region but also offer a rare glimpse into the lives, traditions, and enigmatic circumstances of an Inuit family that lived 500 years ago.