MUMMIES IN NEW GUINEA

Evening Star, Issue 22086, 20 July 1935, Page 20

MUMMIES IN NEW GUINEA

REMARKABLE DISCOVERY ANTHROFOLIGISTS INTERESTED Press Association—By Telegraph-Copyright SYDNEY, July 20. (Received July 20, at 1.30 p.m.) The mummified remains of more than a hundred human beings were discovered in New Guinea recently. The features had been preserved almost perfectly, The discovery was made by Dr J. R. Atcherley, a- former administrative officer in New Guinea. Dr Atcherley was on a mining expedition when the discovery war made at Mapos, 30 miles north-west of Salamaua. " An aperture with a diameter of about sft was seen in the face of a cliff about 40ft from the ground. A large cavern. Was found, and in it a shelved mausoleum was discovered in which the mummies were seated with their heads resting on their hands. According to Dr Atcherley the mummies had been preserved by petrification caused by the dripping of water from the roots of the limestone caves. It would be impossible to give the exact ages of the remains, but the general opinion was that the ages varied from between a thousand and two thousand years. The hair, toe-nails, and fingernails could easily be recognised. DETAILS AWAITED LONDON, July 19. (Received July 20, at 1.30 p.m.) Anthropologists are keen to learn the details of Dr Atcherley’s discovery of the mummies. Dr Firth, of New Zealand, secretary of the Anthropological Society, said that New Zealand discoveries some years ago were assumed to indicate the spread of mummification from Egypt, but the value of the evidence was depreciated when it was discovered that the bodies were dessicated by natural processes in the limestone caves; therefore it was most interesting to learn of the method of preservation. “Dr Atcherley’s discovery, which I think is the first in North New Guinea, is important because other Torres Strait mummies are remarkably similar to those of Egypt. We await a report revealing the funeral practices of those responsible for Dr Atcherley’s mummies, because it will shed light on the purpose of the preservation and the philosophy and ideas of life after death. It would be most desirable for an experienced anthropologist like Dr Fortune, at present in the Rnmu Plateau of New Guinea, to investigate Dr Atcherley’s find, with a view to deriving the maximum value from the evidence. The Government should be most careful in ascertaining the attitude of natives, because carelessness and indifference elsewhere have led to reprisals hindering further study.”