NEW GUINEA FIND

Wanganui Chronicle, Volume 79, Issue 169, 22 July 1935, Page 7

NEW GUINEA FIND

MUMMIFIED REMAINS ANTHROPOLOGISTS’ INTEREST DETAILS AWAITED LONDON, July 19. Anthropologists are anxious to learn details of the discovery of mummified remains, said to be more than 100 U years old, in a labyrinthine cavern in New Guinea, described in byduey recently by Dr. J. R. Atcherley, formerly of the Territory Administration. Dr. Firth, a New Zealander, secretary of the Anthropological Society, said that New Zealand discoveries some I years ago were assumed to indicai .• the spread of mummification from Egypt, but the evidence depreciated when it was discovered that the bodies had been desiccated by natural processes ia limestone caves. “Therefore it was most interesting to learn of the method of preservation in. the case of Dr. Atcherley’,s discovery, which, he thought, was the first iu North New Guinea, it was important because other Torres Straits mummies were remarkably similar to the Egyptian. “We will await details revealing the funeral practices of those responsible for Dr. Atcherley’s mummies,” he said, “because tiicy may shed light uu the purpose of preservation amt philosophy of ideas of life after death : jicld by the natives. It would be most desirable for an experienced anthropologist like Dr. Furtuiie, who is at present on the Ranm Plateau in New Guinea, to investigate Dr. Atcherley’s find With a view to deriving the maximum value from the evidence. “The Government should bo most careful in ascertaining the attitude of tiie natives, because careless interference elsewhere has led to reprisals, hin'iring further study.” A Sydney correspondent reported re cently that the discovery, which has aroused wide scientific interest, was mado in limestone caves in rougti mountainous country about 30 miles inland from Salamoa, and is remarkable because, Dr. Atcherley said there had been no definite knowledge hitherto of any New Guinea tribe which mummified or iu any way preserved its dead. “1 was with a gold expedition when I discovered the cave,” said Dr. Atcherley. “It was about 40 feet from the ground, and was a tortuous winding labyrinth. To explore it we had to use the classic device of a ball of string to mark the way back, inside wo found a. shelved mausoleum, on which were hundreds of mummies, all sitting with their chins ou their-hands and their elbows on their knees. Alanjof them almost reproduced the pooture of Rodin's sculpture ‘The Thinker.’ H appeared to me they had been preserved by the dripping of limewater from tho cave stalactite. Local scientists believe, however, that there was mummification before the cave burial as well.” Dr. Atcherley added that the Lea tures of the mummies were negroiJ, although their pigmentation, apparently was lighter than that of Ibc New Guinea natives of to-day. Thus coloration, however, might have been induced by the action of the limewater. “It is impossible to tell the age (f the mummies,” he said. “Opinion varies between 4000 and 2000 years, but tests are being made, including ray examination, which will reveal their approximate age.” Dr. Atcherley lodged a specimen at the Rabaul Aluseuni, and he said that the Melbourne Museum was also eager to acquire on' 1 .