Who's Buried in the Ice?	September 15, 1999
by Angela M.H. Schuster

Radiocarbon dates in!

Left, view of glacier along ridge. Left to right are Greg Hare of Yukon Government Heritage Branch, Lawrence Joe of Champagne and Aishihik First Nations, and Gord MacRae of B.C. Parks conducting an initial assessment of the site. [LARGER IMAGE] Right, overhead view of the glacier in Tatshenshini-Alsek Park [LARGER IMAGE] (Sarah Gaunt - CAFN)

Three school teachers hunting Dall sheep in a remote area of northwestern British Columbia have discovered the frozen remains of a hunter who may have fallen into a glacial crevasse and perished centuries--if not millennia--ago. Found in Tatshenshini-Alsek National Wilderness Park near the Yukon border, the body was recovered along with a hat and skin coat, a hunting spear and atlatl, or spear-thrower, a leather sheath, cordage, and a snack of dried fish in a leather bag. Nearby were the remains of a moose, which researchers speculate the hunter may have killed.

A hand tool of unknown use, left, was recovered with the remains. [LARGER IMAGE] Right, a hat, possibly woven from split roots, found near the human remains. [LARGER IMAGE] (Sarah Gaunt - CAFN)

Nicknamed Kwaday Dän Sinchi, which means "Long Ago Person Found" in the Tutchone language, the find has invited comparison with Ötzi the Iceman, a hunter whose 5,300-year-old frozen body was discovered in the Italian Alps in 1991. Reported dates for the new find range from 250 to 10,000 years ago; however, those close to the project said that an age for the remains has yet to be determined. Paige MacFarlane, an official with the Canadian government in British Columbia told ARCHAEOLOGY that, "Our best guess, and it is only a guess, is that the remains belong to an aboriginal male and predate the arrival of Europeans in the Yukon area some 250 years ago. Beyond that, we really do not know."

A hand tool of unknown use, left, with the pouch in which it was found [LARGER IMAGE] Right, wooden artifacts recovered from the site [LARGER IMAGE] (Yukon Government Heritage Branch)

After being carefully removed under the supervision of University of Alberta forensic anthropologist Owen Beattie, representatives from British Columbia, and elders from Champagne and Aishihik First Nations, within whose tribal territory the hunter was found, the remains and associated artifacts were taken to a laboratory in Whitehorse. They have since been removed to the Royal British Columbia Museum in Victoria for conservation and study. While other indigenous remains, such as those of Kennewick Man, have been caught in the crossfire between scientists and Native American groups, this does not appear to be the case with Kwaday Dän Sinchi. "We are lucky in that we have had a long-standing tradition of cooperation between archaeologists in the Yukon and British Columbia and Elders of the Champagne and Aishihik First Nations," said MacFarlane. "Because of this relationship, we have been permitted to go ahead with an in-depth analysis of the remains."

Left, excavating Kwaday Dän Sinchi on the glacier. Left to right are Al Mackie of B.C. Archaeology Branch; Gord MacRae of B.C. Parks; Dr. Owen Beattie of Alberta; Greg Hare of Yukon Government Heritage Branch; and helicopter pilot Delmar Washington. [LARGER IMAGE] Right, Greg Hare of Yukon Government Heritage Branch and Dr. Owen Beattie of Alberta wrap human remains in preparation for transportation to Whitehorse. [LARGER IMAGE] (Sarah Gaunt - CAFN)

A management committee comprised of representatives from the government of British Columbia and Elders from the Champagne and Aishihik First Nations, established on September 13, is developing a research plan for the remains, a process expected to take three months. The remains of Kwaday Dän Sinchi will be returned to the Champagne and Aishihik First Nations by December 31, 2000, unless the management team agrees to extend the deadline. If the remains are shown to belong to a member of another First Nation, the remains will be returned to that tribal group for reburial. Radiocarbon dates on tools and the moose, forthcoming in a few weeks, will be posted on our website when available. Archaeologists plan to return to the site next August for a brief visit when the site is relatively free of ice.

Map of Tatshenshini-Alsek National Wilderness Park [LARGER IMAGE]

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© 1999 by the Archaeological Institute of America archive.archaeology.org/online/news/iceman/iceman.html