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HLA types of mummified Eskimo bodies from the 15th century
Author(s) -
Hansen H. E.,
Gürtler H.
Publication year - 1983
Publication title -
american journal of physical anthropology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.146
H-Index - 119
eISSN - 1096-8644
pISSN - 0002-9483
DOI - 10.1002/ajpa.1330610407
Subject(s) - human leukocyte antigen , danish , archaeology , national museum , paleopathology , geography , biology , antigen , immunology , linguistics , philosophy
Abstract In 1978 the bodies of eight Eskimos were discovered in two tombs among the rocks at Qilakitsoq in the Umanak District on the west coast of Greenland. By C 14 analysis at the Danish National Museum the burial was dated around A.D. 1460. The climatic conditions have been favorable for the preservation of the bodies, which were freeze‐dried by nature to almost the consistency of wood. With skin and muscle tissue from the thigh, a human leukocyte antigen (HLA) type determination was carried out by means of a microabsorption method developed in this laboratory on spleen tissue from recently deceased persons (Hansen and Gürtler, 1979, 1982). The aim of the HLA determinations of these mummies was to reveal possible family relationships, and to see whether the HLA antigens found would be typical for nowliving Eskimo populations. The results indicate that two families were buried, one in each of the two tombs.