Bog body
A bog body is a human
Unlike most ancient human remains, bog bodies often retain their skin and internal
The oldest known bog body is the skeleton of Koelbjerg Man from Denmark, who has been dated to 8000 BCE, during the Mesolithic period.[1] The oldest fleshed bog body is that of Cashel Man, who dates to 2000 BCE during the Bronze Age.[4] The overwhelming majority of bog bodies – including examples such as Tollund Man, Grauballe Man and Lindow Man – date to the Iron Age and have been found in northwest Europe, particularly Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands, United Kingdom, Sweden, Poland, and Ireland.[5][6] Such Iron Age bog bodies typically show a number of similarities, such as violent deaths and a lack of clothing, which has led archaeologists to believe that they were killed and deposited in the bogs as a part of a widespread cultural tradition of human sacrifice or executed as criminals.[1][7] Bogs could have indeed been seen as liminal places positively connected to another world, which might welcome contaminating items otherwise dangerous to the living.[7] More recent theories postulate that bog people were perceived as social outcasts or "witches", as legal hostages killed in anger over broken treaty arrangements, or as victims of an unusual death eventually buried in bogs according to traditional customs.[7]
The German scientist Alfred Dieck published a catalog of more than 1,850 bog bodies that he had counted between 1939 and 1986,[8][9] but most were unverified by documents or archaeological finds;[10] and a 2002 analysis of Dieck's work by German archaeologists concluded that much of his work was unreliable.[10] Countering Dieck's findings of more than 1400 bog body discoveries, it seems that after a more recent study the number of bog body finds is closer to 122.[11] The most recent bog bodies are those of soldiers killed in the wetlands of the Soviet Union during the Second World War.[1]
Bog chemistry
The preservation of bog bodies in peat bogs is a natural phenomenon, and not the result of human mummification processes.[1] It is caused by the unique physical and biochemical composition of the bogs.[12] Different types of bogs can affect the mummification process differently: raised bogs best preserve the corpses, whereas fens and transitional bogs tend to preserve harder tissues such as the skeleton rather than the soft tissue.[12]
A limited number of bogs have the correct conditions for preservation of mammalian tissue. Most of these are located in colder climates near bodies of salt water.
The bog chemical environment involves a completely saturated acidic environment, where considerable concentrations of organic acids, which contribute most to the low pH of bog waters, and aldehydes are present.[15] Layers of sphagnum, which are compacted layers of irregular mosses and other peat debris, and peat assist in preserving the cadavers by enveloping the tissue in a cold immobilizing matrix, impeding water circulation and any oxygenation.[16] An additional feature of anaerobic preservation by acidic bogs is the ability to conserve hair, clothing and leather items. Modern experimenters have been able to mimic bog conditions in the laboratory and successfully demonstrated the preservation process, albeit over shorter time frames than the 2,500 years that Haraldskær Woman's body has survived. Most of the bog bodies discovered showed some aspects of decay or else were not properly conserved. When such specimens are exposed to the normal atmosphere, they may begin to decompose rapidly. As a result, many specimens have been effectively destroyed. As of 1979, the number of specimens that have been preserved following discovery was 53.[17][18]
Historical context
Mesolithic to Bronze Age
The oldest bog body that has been identified is the Koelbjerg Man from Denmark, who has been dated to 8000 BCE, during the Mesolithic period.[1]
Around 3900 BCE,
Iron Age
The vast majority of the bog bodies that have been discovered date from the
For these people, the bogs held some sort of liminal significance, and indeed, they placed into them
Many bog bodies show signs of being
Usually, the corpses were naked, sometimes with some items of clothing with them, particularly headgear. The clothing is believed to have decomposed while in the bog for so long.
Some bog bodies, such as
Modern techniques of forensic analysis now suggest that some injuries, such as broken bones and crushed skulls, were not the result of torture, but rather due to the weight of the bog.[32] For example, the fractured skull of Grauballe Man was at one time thought to have been caused by a blow to the head. However, a CT scan of Grauballe Man by Danish scientists determined his skull was fractured due to pressure from the bog long after his death.[32]
North America
A number of skeletons found in Florida have been called "bog people". These skeletons are the remains of people buried in peat between 5,000 and 8,000 years ago, during the Early and Middle
Discovery and archaeological investigation
Ever since the Iron Age, humans have used the bogs to harvest
With the rise of
After the
Archaeological techniques
Until the mid-20th century, it was not readily apparent at the time of discovery whether a body had been buried in a bog for years, decades, or centuries. But, modern forensic and medical technologies (such as radiocarbon dating) have been developed that allow researchers to more closely determine the age of the burial, the person's age at death, and other details. Scientists have been able to study the skin of the bog bodies, reconstruct their appearance and even determine what their last meal was from their stomach contents since peat marsh preserves soft internal tissue. Radiocarbon dating is also common as it accurately gives the date of the find, most usually from the Iron Age. For example, Tollund man of Denmark, whose remains were recovered in 1950, has undergone radiocarbon analyses that place his death date to around the 3rd or 4th century.[46]
More modern analyses using stable isotope measurements have allowed scientists to study bone collagen collected from Tollund Man to determine his diet as being terrestrial-based.
Notable bog bodies
Hundreds of bog bodies have been recovered and studied.[32] The bodies have been most commonly found in the Northern European countries of Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands, Great Britain, and Ireland. In 1965, the German scientist Alfred Dieck catalogued more than 1,850 bog bodies, but later scholarship revealed that much of Dieck's work was erroneous, and the exact number of discovered bodies is unknown.[54]
Several bog bodies are notable for the high quality of their preservation and the substantial research by archaeologists and forensic scientists.
- Cashel Man, from 2000 BCE, discovered in 2011 in County Laois, Ireland. It is the oldest fleshed bog body in the world.[4]
- Cladh Hallan mummies, from 1600 to 1300 BCE, found on the island of South Uist, Scotland
- Girl of the Uchter Moor, from between 764 and 515 BCE, found in 2000 in Uchte, Germany
- Haraldskær Woman, from 490 BCE, found in 1835 in Jutland, Denmark
- Gallagh Man (470–120 BCE), County Galway, Ireland, in 1821
- Tollund Man, from 400 BCE, found in 1950 in Jutland, Denmark
- Borremose Bodies, from 700 to 400 BCE, found in the 1940s in Himmerland, Denmark
- Clonycavan Man, from 392 to 201 BCE, found in 2003 in County Meath, Ireland
- Old Croghan Man, from 362 to 175 BCE, found in 2003 County Offaly, Ireland.[55]
- Yde Girl, 170 BCE – 230 CE, found in 1897 near Yde, Netherlands
- Weerdinge Men, from 160 to 220 BCE, found in 1904 in Drenthe, Netherlands
- Windeby I, from 41 BCE and 118 CE, found in 1952 in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany
- Lindow Man, from 2 BCE – 119 CE, found in 1984 in Cheshire, England
- Bocksten Man, from 1290 to 1430 CE, found in 1936 in Varberg, Sweden
References
Footnotes
- ^ a b c d e f Fischer 1998. p. 237.
- ^ Van der Sanden 1996. p. 7.
- ^ ISSN 0108-464X.
- ^ a b c Hart, Edward; McCabe, Dan (29 January 2014). Ghosts of Murdered Kings. NOVA (Television production). PBS. Retrieved 14 January 2024.
- JSTOR 3032823.
- ISBN 978-0-19-162618-0.
- ^ a b c Randsborg 2015, pp. 7–8.
- ^ Dieck, Alfred (1965). Die europäischen Moorleichenfunde (Hominidenmoorfunde) (in German). Neumünster: Wachholtz. pp. 136pp.
- ^ Glob 1969, pp. 101.
- ^ ISBN 3-89646-026-9.
- ISBN 978-0-521-58954-3.
- ^ a b Fischer 1998. p. 238.
- ^ Dente, Jenny (2005). Bog Bodies: Reluctant Time Travelers. El Paso: University of Texas.
- ^ a b c d Silkeborg Museum "The Tollund Man – Preservation in the bog". Silkeborg Museum and Amtscentret for Undervisning, Aarhus Amt, 2004 (in Danish). Archived from the original on 20 April 2017. Retrieved 20 August 2008.
- from the original on 11 March 2021. Retrieved 4 December 2020.
- ^ "Definition of SPHAGNUM". www.merriam-webster.com. Archived from the original on 11 March 2021. Retrieved 4 December 2020.
- ^ Gill-Frerking, Heather. "Bog Bodies-Preserved from Peat." Mummies of the World. Ed. Wilfried Rosendal and Alfried Wiczorec. 2009. 63. Print.
- ISSN 0170-5776, S. 48–55.
- ^ Official Danish history @http://denmark.dk/en/society/history/ Archived 27 August 2017 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Bennike 1999. p. 27.
- ^ a b Bennike 1999. p. 29.
- ^ Glob 1969, pp. 121–125.
- ^ Glob 1969, pp. 136.
- ^ Vergano, Dan (16 January 2011). "Bog bodies baffle scientists". USA Today. Archived from the original on 16 September 2012. Retrieved 14 December 2011.
- doi:10.1111/1468-0092.00057. Archived from the original(PDF) on 21 July 2011.
- ^ Glob 1969, pp. 116–117.
- ^ Glob 1969, pp. 107.
- ^ Glob 1969, pp. 105.
- ISSN 0959-6836.
- ^ ISBN 978-1-4384-5996-7.
- ^ "Mummytombs.com". www.mummytombs.com. Archived from the original on 2 April 2010.
- ^ a b c Lange, Karen E. (2007). "Tales From the Bog". National Geographic (September 2007). Archived from the original on 17 August 2016. Retrieved 23 April 2009.
- NOVA. Public Broadcasting Service. Archivedfrom the original on 2 December 2011. Retrieved 3 December 2011.
- ISBN 0-8130-1272-4.
- ISBN 0-8130-1598-7.
- ^ Gannon, Megan (28 February 2018). "7,000-Year-Old Native American Burial Site Found Underwater". National Geographic. Archived from the original on 2 March 2018. Retrieved 2 March 2018.
- ^ Rodriquez, Nicole (28 February 2018). "Archaeological site, 7,000 years old, found in Gulf near Venice". Sarasota (Florida) Herald-Tribune. Archived from the original on 2 March 2018. Retrieved 2 March 2018.
- ^ "Bodies in the Bog: The Lindow Mysteries". Science History Institute. 23 July 2019. Archived from the original on 27 November 2020. Retrieved 5 December 2020.
- from the original on 25 September 2020, retrieved 28 June 2019
- ^ Glob 1969, pp. 103.
- ^ Glob 1969, pp. 65–66.
- ^ Glob 1969, pp. 63.
- ^ Glob 1969, pp. 68–69.
- ^ Glob 1969, pp. 69–73.
- ^ Glob 1969, pp. 106–107.
- ^ from the original on 19 March 2021. Retrieved 5 December 2020.
- ^ Dorey, Fran (11 February 2018). "How do we know what they ate?". Australian Museum. Archived from the original on 19 October 2019. Retrieved 19 October 2019.
- ^ ISBN 978-1-136-97178-5.
- from the original on 22 April 2022. Retrieved 5 December 2020.
- ^ Chippindale, Christopher (27 June 1985). "Flag Fen: New Finds from the Bronze Age". New Scientist (1462): 39–43.
- ^ van Vilsteren, V.T. (2004). The Mysterious Bog People. Canadian Museum of Civilization, Glenbow Museum: Waanders Publishers. pp. 1–6.
- ^ "Reconstructions". Archaeology Magazine. Archaeological Institute of America. 1997.
- ^ Deem, James M. (2011). "Clonycavan Man". Mummytombs.com. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 27 September 2011.
- ISSN 0342-734X.
- ^ Mike Dash, "The bodies in the bogs".
- Grauballe Man, from 290 BCE, found in 1952 in Jutland, Denmark
Bibliography
- ISBN 978-1-5261-5018-9. Archivedfrom the original on 5 January 2021. Retrieved 26 December 2020.
- Bennike, Pia (1999). "The Early Neolithic Danish bog finds: a strange group of people!". Bog Bodies, Sacred Sites and Wetland Archaeology. University of Exeter. pp. 27–32. ISBN 0951911759.
- Briggs, C. S. (1995). "Did They Fall or Were They Pushed? Some Unresolved Questions about Bog Bodies". Bog Bodies: New Discoveries and New Perspectives. British Museum Press. pp. 168–182. ISBN 0-7141-2305-6.
- Fischer, Christian (1998). "Bog bodies of Denmark and north-west Europe". Mummies, Disease & Ancient Cultures (second edition). Cambridge University Press. pp. 237–262. ISBN 0-521-58954-1.
- ISBN 978-1-4725-7954-6.
- Glob, P.V. (1969). The Bog People: Iron Age Man Preserved. Faber and Faber.
- Van der Sanden, Winand (1996). Through Nature to Eternity: The Bog Bodies of Northwest Europe. Batavian Lion International. ISBN 90-6707-418-7.
External links
- PBS, NOVA, "The Perfect Corpse" Published 1988–2011. PBS
- Archaeological Institute of America, 1997. Archaeology: "Bodies of the Bogs"
- ISBN 90-6707-418-7.
- ISBN 0-7141-1384-0.
- Taylor, Tim (2003). The buried soul: how humans invented death. London: Fourth Estate. ISBN 1-85702-699-3.
- ISBN 0-7524-1940-4.