Qilakitsoq

Qilakitsoq is an abandoned settlement and an important archaeological site in Greenland [1]. It is the location of the discovery of eight mummified corpses from the Thule period [1]. These Inuit mummies offer important insights into the lives of Inuit about 500 years ago [1]. Qilakitsoq is located in Kitaa near the city of Uummannaq on the northern coast of the Nuussuaq peninsula in a sheltered cove of the Karrat Fjord [1]. In the time of the Thule culture, which lasted until about 1800, a settlement of about thirty hunter-gatherers was located here [1]. On October 9, 1972, two hunters discovered a grave containing several mummies while they were out hunting for rock ptarmigans [1]. Radiocarbon dating yielded a probable time of death around 1475 with a margin of error of about ±50 years [1]. A total of 78 articles of clothing were discovered [1].