Evidence_Qilakitsoq

__Evidence for Lifestyle and Times[[image:264x-rvr15-upernavik-ummannaq-disko-bay-2012.jpg align="right" caption="Uummannaq - where the rocks were believed to come from. "]]__
The only evidence we've found for these Greenland Mummies are what has been found under and around the actual bodies. Unfortunately there were no artefacts found with the bodies, so we had nothing to aid us in further understanding their lifestyle or times.

We do, however, have a range of skins and some rocks that could be tested to tell us something about the lifestyle. In Grave I, there was a baby, a child and three adult women who were all dressed in skin garments. Above, between and underneath the bodies there were many more pieces of skin. These skins were tested and were found to originate from harp seals, ringed seal, caribou and birds. The fact that the graves had been found close to the coast and the mummies were wearing seal and bird skins shows that they had probably lived near the coast.

There were also some rocks or stones found in between the mummies and pieces of skin. These rocks were tested and found to come from the Uummannaq region, close to where the graves were discovered.

These garments also showed a sense of fashion in they way they were worn. The women and children were all equipped for the weather and terrain of Greenland. They wore multiple thin layers, and parkas on the outside. This clothing would have kept the women warm, but still would have been able to release any excess body heat and prevent perspiration.

By using infrared photographs, scientists were able to see evidence of tattooing on 5 out of the 6 womens faces. Tattooing was customary in Inuit background. Some of the Inuit customs may explain why the smallest of the mummies, a six month old boy, was found with the others without any sign of illness. In Inuit customs, when a mother does the father is supposed to strangle or bury the baby alive with its mother if there was no suitable woman to nurse it. It may sounds harsh now, but the mother and baby were supposed to travel to the land of the dead together. This shows is the beliefs of the Inuit people 500 years ago.

Overall, the clothing and stones found with the mummies show us that this group of people came from a coastal area, somwhere near Uunnammaq. They would have been been equipped for the cold weather and terrain that surrounded them.

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