MUMMIES FOUND

Southland Times, Issue 25342, 22 July 1935, Page 7

MUMMIES FOUND

CASE IN NEW GUINEAFEATURES PRESERVED. (United Press Assn.—Telegraph Copyright.) Sydney, July 20. The mummified remains of more than 100 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 of New Guinea. Dr Atcherley was on a mining expedition when the discovery was made at Mapos, 30 miles north-west of Salamana. An aperture with a diameter of about five feet was seen in the face of a cliff about 40 feet from tjie ground. It was found that a large cavern lay beyond and a shelved mausoleum was discovered, inside of 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 roofs of the limestone caves. _ It would be impossible to give the exact ages of the remains. General opinion was that the ages varied from between 1000 and 2000 years. Hair, toe nails, and finger nails could easily be recognized. INTEREST AROUSED DETAILS KEENLY AWAITED. AN IMPORTANT DISCOVERY. (United Press ‘Assn. —Telegraph Copyright.) London, July 19. Anthropologists are keen to learn details of Dr Atcherley’s discovery of the mummies. Dr Hirst, New Zealand, secretary of the Anthropological Society, said that the New Zealand discoveries some years ago were assumed to indicate the spread of mummification from Egypt, but the evidence deprecated this when it was discovered that the bodies had been dessicated by natural processes in limestone caves. It was therefore most interesting to learn the method of preservation. “Dr Atcherley’s discovery, which I think is the first to be made in New Guinea, is important because other Torres Straits mummies are remarkably similar to the Egyptian mummies,” said Dr Hirst. “We must await details revealing the ■ funeral practices of those responsible for Dr Atcherley’s mummies because they will shed a light on the purpose of preservation, philosophy, and ideas of life after death. It would be 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 deriving the maximum value from the evidence. The Government should be most careful in ascertaining the attitude of the natives because careless interference elsewhere has led to reprisals hindering any further study.”