Antarctic Ice Mummies

The ice mummies were found in Antarctica in 18,392 during an expedition to the regions southern Ice Field Islands for surveys on the population density and well being of a number of penguin colonies in the area following the sinking of a commercial fishing vessel that caused an oil spill. Volunteers on the expedition located wreckage on the shore they initially thought was debris from the ship, but was later determined to be a structure built into the ice of one of the minor islands. Believing the structure to be an illegal hunting camp, cleanup volunteers called for investigation by the Aotearoa Coast Guard and Fishing and Wildlife service.   It was quickly determined that the structure was in fact an old ruin that had only recently been exposed from the ice, at which point Aotearoan authorities began to call upon archaeologists to preserve and document the site, fearing that it may be quickly lost to the quickly changing environment or be contaminated due to the oil spill. The site was determined to be from the human era, though initially, the time period in which it originated was initially unknown due to a lack of material that could be used to estimate its date such as flora, fauna, or documents. In 18,394, another examination of the site found previously unknown rooms in the research base that had previously been overlooked due to being entirely encased in ice and permafrost, leading to the discovery of 12 bodies, mummified in the facility. These were extracted and brought to Aotearoa for further study.   In Aotearoa, the mummified bodies were examined and found to be at least three women and five men, with the sex of the remainder being undetermined due to being incomplete and likely having suffered decomposition throughout the centuries. Initial dating of the mummies was disbelieved, though repeated testing proved them to be at least 17,000 years old, supported by later finds of a number of documents and texts recovered from the same rooms. This placed the mummies as late human era, not only making them a rare find in that they are some of very few recovered human remains, but also as the best preserved ones known in the world, and the only ones with extensive soft tissue preservation.   Studies of the mummies revealed that two of the females and one male still had preserved stomach contents, likely their last meals before death, while stomach content was not found in any of the other bodies. On analysis, the stomach contents was found to be partially digested remains of another human individual, likely being that of one of the highly damaged partial mummies found in close proximity. Although cause of death was not ever determined for any of the individuals, numerous injuries and ailments had been found in the bodies, suggesting that the group had suffered from extreme malnutrition and may have turned to cannibalism out of desperation.   One of the male mummies (M5) was also found to have had sustained several serious injuries prior to death, including several fractured ribs, a broken wrist, and a prolonged injury to the spine. With such injuries, the man was unlikely to have been able to care for himself, and had to rely on the rest of the group, which analysis of his body showed his injuries had extensive signs of healing, suggesting he may have survived for many months. M5 was also found to have been wearing significantly more clothing than the other individuals and to have been wrapped in a wool blanket at time of death. Reconstructions of the blanket found that it had been bundled and tied using wiring, fashioned in a way to have allowed for moving him from room to room. It remains unknown if this was done prior to M5's death as a way to move him, or was done to remove his body postmortem. The female mummy found with the most human remains in her stomach, F2, is strongly believed to be the individual known as Jennet, mentioned in numerous documents found at the site. Although her identity is not confirmed, what is known of the individual is that she was likely one of the researchers or mechanics mentioned through the texts due to a strong build and having extensive wear on the joints, suggesting an active lifestyle with repetitive tasks.   The mummies are still housed in Aotearoa, though their precise location is kept a closely guarded secret due to threats from multiple individuals thought to belong to Hilathu's Cult to destroy the remains. All of the mummies have had replica casts of them made, which are often loaned to museums around the world. Replicas of M5, F2, and their respective artifacts were sold to Nottingham's State Museum of Humanoid History in 20,004 as part of their exhibition on the late human era.