AN EERIE CATACOMB

Northern Advocate, 22 July 1935, Page 6

AN EERIE CATACOMB

CNE HUNDRED MUMMIES | REMAINS OF HUMAN BEINGS. NEW GUINEA DIS'COVERY. SCIENTIFIC INTEREST. CUnited Press Association —By Electrio Telegraph.—Copyright! (Received 9 a.m.) LONDON, July 20. Anthropologists are anxious to learn the details of the discovery of 2000-year-old mummified remains of some 100 human beings made recently at Mapos, 30 miles to the north of Saiamana, New Guinea, by Dr. J. R. Atcnerley, a former Australian administrative officer of New Guinea, during a- gold mining expedition. Dr. Firth, who is a New Zealander, secretary of the Anthropological Society, said New Zealand discoveries some years ago were assumed to indicate a spread of mummification from Egypt, but the evidence had depreciated when it was discovered that the bodies were desiccated by natural processes in limestone caves. Therefore it was most interesting to learn the method of preservation in Dr. Atcherley’s discovery “which, I think,” he said, “is the first in the north of New Guinea. It is important because other Torres Straits mummies are remarkably similar to the Egyptian. “We await details revealing the funeral practices of those responsible for Dr. Atcherley’s mummies, because they will shed light on the purpose of preservation and the philosophy of ideas of life after death. It would oe most desirable for an experienced anthropologist like Dr. Fortune, at present on the Ramu Plateau in New Guinea, to investigate Dr. Atcherley’s find with a view to derivingjhe maximum value from the evidence. “The Government sho i, ‘ M be most careful to ascertain the attitude of the natives, because careless interference elsewhere has led to reprisals hindering further study.” Dr. Atcherley described his discovery on his return to Melbourne on July 2. He said he had entered an aperture, with a diameter of about five feet, in the face of a cliff about 40ft. from the ground, and had found a large cavern beyond. A shelved mausoleum was discovered inside, on which the mummies were seated with their heads resting on their hands. He said the mummies had been preserved by petrification caused by the dripping ,of water from the roofs of the limestone caves.' It would be impossible, he said, to give the exact ages of the remains. The general opinion was that their ages varied from between 1000 to 2000 years. Hair, toenails, and finger-nails could be recognised easily.