17th-Century Whalers' Skeletons Reveal Brutal Labor and Arctic Erosion Threatens Their Graves
Archaeologists from the Norwegian Institute for Cultural Heritage Research (NIKU) and Oslo University Hospital conducted a study published in PLOS One, analyzing the remains of 20 whalers interred in Svalbard. The findings from Likneset revealed significant degenerative joint disease and trauma, reflecting the harsh realities faced by whalers in the 17th and 18th centuries. Lead author Lise Loktu observed that the skeletons of younger men showed wear typically seen in older individuals. Co-author Elin Therese Brødholt remarked that these results illustrate the extreme conditions endured by these men. Additionally, the study addressed the effects of climate change on burial sites and urged a reevaluation of Svalbard's cultural heritage management. Notably, the International Whaling Commission's 1986 moratorium on commercial whaling is still enforced.
Key facts
- Study published in PLOS One examined 20 whalers buried on Svalbard.
- Skeletons showed advanced degenerative joint disease, trauma, and other health problems.
- Lead author Lise Loktu is an archaeologist at NIKU.
- Co-author Elin Therese Brødholt is a forensic anthropologist at Oslo University Hospital.
- Likneset burial site has hundreds of shallow graves marked with stone cairns.
- Signs of scurvy and pipe-smoking were found in the remains.
- Climate change is causing permafrost degradation and coastal erosion at Likneset.
- Researchers compared graves excavated in the 1980s, 2016, and 2019.
Entities
Institutions
- Norwegian Institute for Cultural Heritage Research (NIKU)
- Oslo University Hospital
- International Whaling Commission
- PLOS One
- Courthouse News
- Live Science
- Smithsonian Magazine
Locations
- Svalbard
- Norway
- Likneset
- Corpse Point
- Arctic
- North Pole
- Longmont
- Colorado